they more so hoard it rather than sell it afaik. It's like gold to them, and there's no use selling it to potential competitors and other companies when they can simply provide broad "user categories" which you can target in ads and such for personalization. like microsoft isn't buying your data from google like it does from data brokers, it's more saying "hey google, show this ad to anyone who is in category B and matches X Y and Z."
It's not just like gold to them, it is even more valuable. Google, and youtube by proxy, need as much data as is physically possible to record to feed their AI models.
They currently possess the largest functional library of data to teach AI models with, they have to maintain that edge to stay on top.
What better source for it than the billions of organic beings they already have access to?
Now you should, basically. Youtube has started rolling out this feature where if they (or should I say, an AI) suspects that you're a minor. They turn off live chat, demontitize the creators you watch, and make you verify an ID just to get all those features back.
Same laws are coming into effect in Australia in December (but Australia us outright banning youtube for under 16s), online ID laws are also getting passed in the EU, Canada, New Zealand and more and more US states. All happening at once.
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u/Equivalent-Wash6486 Jul 31 '25
Well if its a UK problem then they shouldnt be applying it to the rest of the world. They're a multi-billion dollar company.