diff --git a/yt_dlp/extractor/common.py b/yt_dlp/extractor/common.py
index 4a4b5416d..cdb6d5a1f 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/extractor/common.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/extractor/common.py
@@ -1527,11 +1527,11 @@ def _rta_search(html):
             r'>\s*(?:18\s+U(?:\.S\.C\.|SC)\s+)?(?:§+\s*)?2257\b',
         ]
 
-        age_limit = 0
+        age_limit = None
         for marker in AGE_LIMIT_MARKERS:
             mobj = re.search(marker, html)
             if mobj:
-                age_limit = max(age_limit, int(traverse_obj(mobj, 1, default=18)))
+                age_limit = max(age_limit or 0, int(traverse_obj(mobj, 1, default=18)))
         return age_limit
 
     def _media_rating_search(self, html):
diff --git a/yt_dlp/extractor/generic.py b/yt_dlp/extractor/generic.py
index 5890b2e14..b3a27f31e 100644
--- a/yt_dlp/extractor/generic.py
+++ b/yt_dlp/extractor/generic.py
@@ -970,7 +970,7 @@ def _real_extract(self, url):
             'title': self._generic_title('', webpage, default='video'),
             'description': self._og_search_description(webpage, default=None),
             'thumbnail': self._og_search_thumbnail(webpage, default=None),
-            'age_limit': self._rta_search(webpage) or None,
+            'age_limit': self._rta_search(webpage),
         })
 
         self._downloader.write_debug('Looking for embeds')