Tech speedbumps may frustrate social media ban for kids
There is no guarantee that technologies aimed at blocking young kids from social media will always work, according to early trial results.
A ban on children younger than 16 from accessing platforms like Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram is expected to commence in six months, and yet, there are glaring questions about how and whether the plan will work.
While the early findings of a federal government-commissioned trial found age assurance technologies are available, there's no silver bullet.
"Age assurance can be done in Australia and can be private, robust and effective," the report found.
"We found a plethora of approaches that fit use cases in different ways.
"But we did not find a single ubiquitous solution that would suit all use cases, nor did we find solutions that were guaranteed to be effective in all deployments."
Under the social media ban, platforms will have to take reasonable steps to prevent under-16s from creating new accounts and could face millions in fines for systemic breaches of the new rules.
Cabinet minister Murray Watt maintained the need for restrictions around social media.
"The Australian people believe that we do need to see some restrictions around social media use when it comes to young people," he told ABC News on Friday.
"Unfortunately, it has become an insidious force, both for young people and more widely."
Australia's ban is world-leading and, in the aftermath of the November passage of federal laws, other nations indicated a desire to emulate the measure.
However, the legislation does not indicate how exactly the ban will be executed.
The report found parental control and consent systems could be effective when first introduced.
But there is "limited evidence" that they would be effective as children grow up or allow kids the right to participate in the breadth of digital experiences.
Even after the coalition helped secure an amendment to ensure Australians wouldn't have to provide any form of government identification to verify their age, the trial found there was a risk of privacy breaches.
Some age assurance service providers had over-anticipated the needs of regulators and built tools that led to an "unnecessary and disproportionate collection and retention of data".
Opposition communications spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh has urged Labor to confirm what technology or verification tools will be used to protect kids online.
"No more young lives can be lost or families destroyed because of the toxicity of social media," she said in a statement.
The Age Assurance Technology Trial's final report is expected to be published later in 2025.
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