Social media ban moves closer in Australia after tech trial
Australia's world-first social media ban for under-16s moved closer to implementation after a key trial found that checking a user's age is technologically possible and can be integrated into existing services.
The conclusions are a blow to Facebook-owner Meta Platforms Inc., TikTok and Snap Inc., which opposed the controversial legislation. Some platform operators had questioned whether a user's age could be reliably established using current technology.
The results of the government-backed trial clear the way for the law to come into force by the end of the year. The findings also potentially allow other jurisdictions to follow Australia's lead as countries around the world grapple with ways to protect children from harmful content online.
'Age assurance can be done in Australia and can be private, robust and effective,' the government-commissioned Age Assurance Technology Trial said in a statement Friday announcing its preliminary findings.
The trial's project director, Tony Allen, said there were 'no significant technological barriers' to stopping under-16s gaining social media accounts. 'These solutions are technically feasible, can be integrated flexibly into existing services and can support the safety and rights of children online,' he said.
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Under the new law, digital platforms including Snapchat, Meta-owned Instagram, and X will be responsible for enforcing the age limit, with penalties of as much as A$50 million ($32 million) for breaches.
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The trial tested a range of methods and technologies, including facial scans, inferring a user's age based on their behavior, age verification, as well as parental controls. The tests also took into account the ways teenagers might try to circumvent age checks.
'We found a plethora of approaches that fit different use cases in different ways, but we didn't find a single ubiquitous solution that would suit all use cases,' the trial said in its statement.
More than 50 companies participated in the trial, while Apple Inc. and Google, developers of the most popular mobile-phone operating systems, are also contributing, Allen said on a video conference call on Friday.
The trial didn't assess public acceptance for any particular technology or the costs involved. The accuracy of the different methods, for example the margin of error for facial analysis, wasn't made available.
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