Social media’s age-old question

Hi everyone, it’s Aisha in San Francisco. Social media companies have an age problem. But first…Three things you need to know today:• Elon M [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Hi everyone, it’s Aisha in San Francisco. Social media companies have an age problem. But first… Three things you need to know today: • Elon Musk has attracted more right-leaning users [to the X social media site](. • Broadcom reported record sales [for its artificial intelligence products]( • Samsung unveiled plans to win [AI clients for its chip foundry business]( How old are you? When you sign up for a social media account it almost always asks you to enter your birthday. Part of the reason is so your friends can wish you a happy birthday. But the bigger reason is because social networks like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat don’t let people younger than 13 use their apps. The intent is to protect kids from the harms of social media, like body image issues, mental health challenges or sexual predators. But in reality, kids just lie about their age and use the apps anyways. Lawsuits filed by a group of [30 states]( last October, for example, alleged that more than [1 million kids]( under the age of 13 were using Meta Platforms Inc.’s apps, like Facebook and Instagram. Lawmakers and parents are rightly [concerned]( about how easy it is for kids to gain access to a technology that can be dangerous. Together, they’ve passed bills in states such as Utah and Arkansas that require minors to get [parental consent]( before signing up for social media apps, and in Florida, where children under the age of 14 [can’t use]( social media at all. State lawmakers tried to pass [more than 144 bills]( related to online age limits last year alone, according to data compiled by Tech Policy Press. As social media companies scramble to comply with child safety laws, it’s led to more demand for businesses that can figure out your age. [Kimberly Sutherland](bbg://people/profile/22146933), a vice president of fraud and identity at [LexisNexis Risk Solutions](, told me that a lot more companies have reached out lately for help with age verification. Executives from Prove and Mitek Systems, companies that provide similar services, told me the same thing. “One of the things that drives activity is fines or the fear of not being compliant with laws,” Sutherland said. But verifying someone’s age can be more complicated than you might think. Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, ByteDance Ltd.’s TikTok and Snap Inc.’s Snapchat rely on users to self-report their birthdays, though it’s easy (and common) for people to lie. Adults can hand over things like passports or driver’s licenses to prove their age, but most kids don’t have any form of government-issued ID, explained [Johnny Ayers](bbg://people/profile/22045924), the chief executive officer of [Socure](, which helps verify the ages of users on Poshmark, the fashion marketplace, and betting site DraftKings, and is in talks with one of the social media giants. “There’s very little data or information on someone under 18,” he said. One possible solution would be to verify the parent’s identity, then let a parent confirm the age of their child, some experts have suggested. When a kid tries to sign up for a social media app, it could send a text to the parent’s phone asking them to approve their child, for example. Tech companies seem reluctant to try this method. Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat have features that let parents supervise their children’s activity on the apps, but the programs are optional and don’t prevent kids from joining in the first place. It’s not hard to guess why: The social media giants know that asking users to submit passports or get verified by their parents will probably deter people from signing up. “All these social networks want users. They don’t want to scare them,” said AU10TIX chief executive officer [Dan Yerushalmi](bbg://people/profile/17903457), whose company helps X, LinkedIn and TikTok verify their users. Some studies show that more than 40% of people will give up if it takes too long to create an account or if they have to hand over information they don’t want to expose, like documents that could prove their age, he said. Still, social media giants like Meta, which made more than $135 billion in revenue last year, have the money and resources to do it. “My assumption is they don’t want to roll it out to 4 billion people,” said Ayers. “Does that hurt platform growth and usage numbers?”—[Aisha Counts](mailto:acounts3@bloomberg.net) The big story Big cloud computing providers and AI companies are hunting for enough electricity to power their data centers and technology, leading to a [jump in estimates for future US energy needs](. John Ketchum, chief executive officer of NextEra Inc. said he’s been approached to accommodate 5 gigawatts of demand — enough to power the city of Miami. One to watch [Watch Tesla investor Ross Gerber interviewed on Bloomberg Television about the proposed $56 billion pay package for CEO Elon Musk.](​ Bloomberg podcast Foundering: The OpenAI Story is a narrative podcast that examines the rise of Sam Altman, from the time he was a 19-year-old startup founder, then the head of Y Combinator, and now the billionaire king of this AI boom. Get fully charged Databricks launched an AI graphics generator for business to [compete with Salesforce and Microsoft](. Sony’s PlayStation plans a family friendly [fall slate of games](. The G-7 will set up a group to coordinate [the supply chains for semiconductors.]( More from Bloomberg Bloomberg Screentime: The entertainment landscape is shifting rapidly. Cable empires are crumbling, streaming giants face new challenges and innovative forces are on the rise. Join Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw in Los Angeles on Oct. 9-10 for look at the future of media. 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