Why do I have to confirm that I'm over 18 years of age, when I joined Steam 16 years ago?

[Chrisern]

I'm sick of being asked for my birthdate and -year, when I have been on Steam for 16 years. Do they think I joined when I was 2?

Also, you know that I have a credit card, as I've bought 200 games. One must be over 18 years of age ro aquire a Visa or a Master Card. I think this is a global rule. When will Steam understand I'm over 18? As a matter of fact, I'm 46!

[Thermal Lance]

They can't store that kind of info for legal reasons from what I've been told.

[Crazy Tiger]

It's for their own protection. Valve has no idea of knowing who actually is clicking on your account. By constantly having to ask the age, any underage kid has to lie, which means parents cannot sue Valve when their kids see "nasty things".

[DarkCrystalMethod]

Since nobody can trade/sell accounts then the age of the account (past a certain number of years) should automatically bypass any age gate nonsense. And these are numbers that Valve already has.

[Chrisern]

Originally posted by Thermal Lance:

They can't store that kind of info for legal reasons from what I've been told.

Credit card info, or the age of my account?

[Chrisern]

Originally posted by DarkCrystalMethod:

Since nobody can trade/sell accounts then the age of the account (past a certain number of years) should automatically bypass any age gate nonsense. And these are numbers that Valve already has.

Exactly! Thank you!

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

The month is never saved.

Been asked soooooo many times that Valve even made a Q&A for it years ago...

Q: Why do you KEEP asking my damn age throughout the store?

A: We're with you on this. Unfortunately, many rating agencies have rules that stipulate that we cannot save your age for longer than a single browsing session. It's frustrating, but know we're filling out those age gates too.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/593110/announcements/detail/1708442022337025126

Just be glad it saves the date so you only click view page.

We were all born on January 1, 1900 anyways.

[Thermal Lance]

Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

The month is never saved.

Been asked soooooo many times that Valve even made a Q&A for it years ago...

Q: Why do you KEEP asking my damn age throughout the store?

A: We're with you on this. Unfortunately, many rating agencies have rules that stipulate that we cannot save your age for longer than a single browsing session. It's frustrating, but know we're filling out those age gates too.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/593110/announcements/detail/1708442022337025126

Just be glad it saves the date so you only click view page.

We were all born on January 1, 1900 anyways.

:nkLove:

Pretty much lol.

I'm a 124 years old vampire!

[Tsubame ⭐]

Liability issues for Valve over anything else.

It literally takes a couple of seconds to bypass the age verification step, so at the very most it is only a minor inconvenience.

It could be much worse, as the Steam region ban on 18+ games in Germany demonstrates.

[Brian9824]

It's stupid legal requirements, its required once per browsing session because they have no way to know its you on your account and say not your child. It does nothing to protect kids, but it protects Valve from lawsuits if someone gets on their parents account and gets access to adult content.

[mldb88]

Originally posted by DarkCrystalMethod:

Since nobody can trade/sell accounts then the age of the account (past a certain number of years) should automatically bypass any age gate nonsense. And these are numbers that Valve already has.

Doesn't mean the person using the account is the account holder (could be a sibling or something using the family PC or something).
Just something you have to deal with unless you want incredibly restrictive/intrusive information gathering and storing practices (which Valve would never even implement in the first place).

[Wolfpig]

Originally posted by Brian9824:

It's stupid legal requirements, its required once per browsing session because they have no way to know its you on your account and say not your child.

That has nothing to do with that, as they have no means to know who is using it either way.

It does nothing to protect kids, but it protects Valve from lawsuits if someone gets on their parents account and gets access to adult content.

Oh yeah adult games, the only danger for kids.
Stuff like fps & so where you can kill people are far more harmless for the 12 year old kid......

[Brian9824]

Originally posted by Wolfpig:

Originally posted by Brian9824:

It's stupid legal requirements, its required once per browsing session because they have no way to know its you on your account and say not your child.

That has nothing to do with that, as they have no means to know who is using it either way.

It does indeed have to do with that, hence why they can only save your age for the current browsing session. They can assume that the single browsing session is one user, and again its not meant to actually STOP a minor from accessing the data, its meant to mean that if a child LIES to get access the parents can't sue steam.

Originally posted by Wolfpig:

Oh yeah adult games, the only danger for kids.
Stuff like fps & so where you can kill people are far more harmless for the 12 year old kid......

Don't disagree, but its the law, and valve doesn't have any say in it.

[T9]

It's the waterproof age check
Worthless but legal

[Chika Ogiue]

Originally posted by Chrisern:

Also, you know that I have a credit card, as I've bought 200 games. One must be over 18 years of age ro aquire a Visa or a Master Card. I think this is a global rule. When will Steam understand I'm over 18? As a matter of fact, I'm 46!

Never. Age gates aren't about proving your age. They're about accepting responsibility. So when Timmy's mummy is all irate because Timmy saw something "offensive" on Steam, Valve's lawyers can turn around and tell her that her precious little Timmy lied about his age in order to see that "offensive" content.

I much prefer how age gates are legally defined for my region, and wish Valve would implement them at least for us. Our age gates are a simple yes/no question: "Are you over 18?" Does the same job, doesn't mislead you into thinking you are proving your own age for any other reason than taking responsibility.

[Haruspex]

Originally posted by Chrisern:

One must be over 18 years of age ro aquire a Visa or a Master Card. I think this is a global rule. When will Steam understand I'm over 18? As a matter of fact, I'm 46!

I opened my son a checking account with a Visa debit card when he was 14, so this is not a global rule.

I fully understand the logic behind your complaint, and you're not the only one to make it. What I don't get is; Is it really that much of an annoyance? I usually scroll down to some random year and click view page, and it doesn't bother me again for the rest of the day at least. It's two seconds at most. I wouldn't even call it an inconvenience, like an unlocked door is an inconvenience to enter a room.

If you look at it from Valve's perspective, I know you're 46, and logically so does Valve, but imagine you step away from your computer and your 9 year old son sits down. He opens Steam, and clicks something that sparks his curiosity. That pop up appears asking him to confirm his birthdate. Now, if he's honest it won't let him see the game. If he lies and says he was born in 1904, it will let him, and he may get an eyeful of something no 9 year old should see.

Of course you, a responsible parent, probably lock your PC when you're away from it and you monitor your kid's internet browsing and have frank talks with him about stuff he can find on the Internet. (Hypothetical kids here.) Valve doesn't know that though. They're simply covering their ass. This creates a situation where you will have no avenue to come after Valve legally for exposing your kid to adult content. Valve wouldn't be at fault here. Your kid lied.

So honestly just take the two seconds it takes to tell Steam that you were born on January 1st and that you're 110 years old, then click the button. It's really not a problem worth even mentioning.