Trial reveals flaws in tech intended to enforce Australian social media ban for under-16s

Technology to check a person's age and ban under 16s from using social media is not 'guaranteed to be effective' and face-scanning tools have given incorrect results, concede the operators of a Australian government trial of the scheme.
The tools being trialled – some involving artificial intelligence analysing voices and faces – would be improved through verification of identity documents or connection to digital wallets, those running the scheme have suggested.
The trial also found 'concerning evidence' some technology providers were seeking to gather too much personal information.
As 'preliminary findings' from the trial of systems meant to underpin the controversial children's social media ban were made public on Friday, the operators insisted age assurance can work and maintain personal privacy.
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The preliminary findings did not detail the types of technology trialled or any data about its results or accuracy. Guardian Australia reported in May the ACCS said it had only trialled facial age estimation technology at that stage.
One of the experts involved with the trial admitted there were limitations, and that there will be incorrect results for both children and adults.
'The best-in-class reported accuracy of estimation, until this trial's figures are published, was within one year and one month of the real age on average – so you have to design your approach with that constraint in mind,' Iain Corby, the executive director of the Age Verification Providers Association, told Guardian Australia.
Tony Allen, the project director, said most of the programs had an accuracy of 'plus or minus 18 months' regarding age – which he admitted was not 'foolproof' but would be helpful in lowering risk.
The Albanese federal government's plan to ban under 16s from social media, rushed through parliament last year, will come into effect in December.
The government trial of age assurance systems is critical to the scheme. The legislation does not explicitly say how platforms should enforce the law and the government is assessing more than 50 companies whose technologies could help verify that a user is over 16.
The ABC reported on Thursday teenage children in the trial were identified by some of the software as being aged in their 20s and 30s, and that face-scanning technology was only 85% accurate in picking a user's age within an 18-month range. But Allen said the trial's final report would give more detailed data about its findings and the accuracy of the technology tested.
The trial is being run by the Age Check Certification Scheme and testing partner KJR. It was due to present a report to government on the trial's progress in June but that has been delayed until the end of July. On Friday, the trial published a two-page summary of 'preliminary findings' and broad reflections before what it said would be a final report of 'hundreds of pages' to the new communications minister, Anika Wells.
The summary said a 'plethora of options' were available, with 'careful, critical thinking by providers' on privacy and security concerns. It concluded that 'age assurance can be done in Australia'.
The summary praised some approaches that it said handled personal data and privacy well. But it also found what it called 'concerning evidence' that some providers were seeking to collect too much data.
'Some providers were found to be building tools to enable regulators, law enforcement or coroners to retrace the actions taken by individuals to verify their age, which could lead to increased risk of privacy breaches due to unnecessary and disproportionate collection and retention of data,' it said.
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In documents shared to schools taking part in the study, program operators said it would trial technologies including 'AI-powered technology such as facial analysis, voice analysis, or analysis of hand movements to estimate a person's age', among other methods such as checking forms of ID.
Stakeholders have raised concerns about how children may circumvent the ban by fooling the facial recognition, or getting older siblings or parents to help them.
Friday's preliminary findings said various schemes could fit different situations and there was no 'single ubiquitous solution that would suit all use cases' nor any one solution 'guaranteed to be effective in all deployments'.
The report also said there were 'opportunities for technological improvement' in the systems trialled, including making it easier to use and lowering risk.
This could include 'blind' verification of government documents, via services such as digital wallets.
Corby said the trial must 'manage expectations' about effectiveness of age assurance, saying 'the goal should be to stop most underage users, most of the time'.
'You can turn up the effectiveness but that comes at a cost to the majority of adult users, who'd have to prove their age more regularly than they would tolerate,' he said.
Corby said the trial was working on risks of children circumventing the systems and that providers were 'already well-placed' to address basic issues such as the use of VPNs and fooling the facial analysis.

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NSW political staffers could be arrested after failing to appear at Dural caravan inquiry

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Friday's extraordinary decision to seek the arrest warrants could lead to the staffers being apprehended and brought before the committee to give evidence. But several steps have to be completed first. Roberts, the chair, will meet with the president of the Legislative Council, Nationals MP Ben Franklin, on Friday afternoon to submit the committee's case. Under the Parliamentary Evidence Act, if the president is satisfied that the five staffers failed to appear without just cause or reasonable excuse, the matter would be referred to a judge of the supreme court. If the judge agrees, then warrants would be issued and the staffers arrested and brought before the committee to give evidence. 'This decision follows numerous attempts by the committee over several weeks to secure the attendance of these staff by invitation and ultimately by summons,' Roberts said in a statement. The staffers summoned to appear included Minns' chief of staff, James Cullen, and two of his deputy chiefs of staff, Edward Ovadia and Sarah Michael. The police minister's chief of staff, Ross Neilson, was also summoned, along with Catley's deputy chief of staff, Tilly South. The staffers' letter to Roberts, released by the committee, stated: 'Our attendance before the select committee to give evidence would be at odds with the principles of ministerial accountability and comity between the houses of parliament.' Sign up to Afternoon Update Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion They pointed to an outstanding inquiry on parliamentary privilege and ethics, stating they suspected in light 'of recent events' it would consider whether compelling ministerial staff to give evidence infringed parliamentary privilege or 'offends principles' of Australia's Westminster system of government. 'In these circumstances, and particularly while the standing committee's inquiries are ongoing, we consider that there is a reasonable excuse or just cause for us to not attend the hearing, and we propose not to do so,' they wrote on Thursday. 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ITV News

35 minutes ago

• ITV News

Mother of teen who drowned in sea off Bournemouth beach raises water safety issue in Parliament

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STV News

36 minutes ago

• STV News

Forbes will ‘leave no stone unturned' to help save Alexander Dennis jobs

Scotland's deputy First Minister has pledged to 'leave no stone unturned' to secure a future for the workers at risk of losing their jobs at bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis. Kate Forbes, who is also the Economy Secretary, said the Scottish Government would 'explore every avenue' to save the 400 jobs at risk of redundancy. Up to 400 jobs have been put at risk after the manufacturer announced plans to move operations in Falkirk and Larbert to a single site in Scarborough in North Yorkshire. PA Media 400 jobs at Alexander Dennis are at risk (Andrew Milligan/PA). It comes after more than 400 jobs were lost at the nearby Grangemouth refinery. Forbes said ministers at Holyrood first spoke with the firm about the proposals on May 25, and said she believed the UK Government did so at that time too. She insisted she was 'determined' to find an alternative to job cuts at the Falkirk and Larbert factories. 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John Swinney received a letter almost a year ago directly from the company setting out how his decision to buy buses from China, instead of from Scotland, was putting the company and jobs at risk. Scottish Secretary Ian Murray echoed that sentiment, telling the PA news agency: 'The bottom line here is that the Scottish Government have known about this for a year and done absolutely nothing. 'There's a pattern here, they knew about the Grangemouth refinery closing for three years and did nothing. 'And now what they're trying to do is pass the ball back to Westminster.' He said the UK Government is doing 'all we possibly can' to resolve the issues at the bus plant, adding: 'The big issue with Alexander Dennis in Falkirk is the Scottish Government didn't buy as many buses off them as they should have done. 'In fact they bought four times fewer as Andy Burnham in Manchester.' 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Unite union Scottish secretary Derek Thomson said: 'Unite has held positive and constructive meetings with the Deputy First Minister to explore all options which can keep the Alexander Dennis sites open in Falkirk and Larbert. 'We welcome the Scottish Government actively working with the trade unions to find solutions to the threat of 400 highly skilled jobs being lost. 'It is our firm belief that there are pathways to retaining a manufacturing presence at the sites.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country