Latest news with #Allen
eNCA
an hour ago
- Business
- eNCA
Australian trial says tech for social media teen ban can work
SYDNEY - Australia's world-leading ban on under-16s joining social media sites cleared a big hurdle Friday as a trial found digital age checks can work "robustly and effectively". Sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and X could face fines of up to Aus$50-million for failing to comply with the legislation, which was passed in November. They have described the law -- which is due to come into effect by the end of this year -- as vague, rushed and "problematic". There has been widespread concern over children's use of online platforms as evidence shows that social media can have negative effects on children's mental and physical health. Digital age verification systems -- which would be critical to the ban -- can work, said the interim findings of an independent Age Assurance Technology Trial, conducted for the government. "These preliminary findings indicate that age assurance can be done in Australia privately, robustly and effectively," it said. There are "no significant technological barriers" to deploying age-checking systems in Australia, said the trial's project director, Tony Allen. "These solutions are technically feasible, can be integrated flexibly into existing services and can support the safety and rights of children online," he said in a statement. In a separate interview with Australia's Nine Network, Allen said preventing children from circumventing age verification tools was a "big challenge", however. "I don't think anything is completely foolproof," he said. There are a "plethora" of approaches to age verification but no single solution to suit all cases, said the trial report, in which 53 organisations took part. Australia's legislation is being closely monitored by other countries, with many weighing whether to implement similar bans. Greece spearheaded a proposal this month for the European Union to limit children's use of online platforms by setting an age of digital adulthood -- barring children from social media without parental consent.
USA Today
2 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Wisconsin great Braelon Allen holds a notable NFL record entering 2025 season
Wisconsin great Braelon Allen holds a notable NFL record entering 2025 season The most rush yards in NFL history before these ages... What jumps out about this list? 🤔 — NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) June 19, 2025 Wisconsin fans grew used to hearing about Braelon Allen's age during his terrific three-year college career. The Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, native joined the program a year early after reclassifying from the class of 2022 to 2021. That move meant he joined the program as a 17-year-old true freshman, a fact that became universally known when the Badgers' season kicked off that fall. Allen burst onto the scene immediately during that true freshman campaign, taking 186 carries for 1,268 yards and 12 touchdowns. His emergence one month into the season directly correlated with the Badgers' seven-game win streak and in-season resurgence. Thanks to the ESPN and Fox broadcast teams, Allen's age became synonymous with the team's success. The talented running back went on to play in 35 games over three seasons with the Badgers. He took 597 total carries for 3,494 yards and 35 touchdowns. At only 20 years old, Allen entered the draft after his junior season, where the New York Jets selected him with the No. 134 overall pick. That leads to Allen's current NFL record. 20-year-old prospects rarely enter the professional ranks, given the three-year requirement between high school graduation and NFL draft declaration. A player would need to enter college at 17, which Allen did, then perform well enough to declare before their senior season. Allen, who didn't turn 21 until January 20, was the only 20-year-old in the NFL last season. Thus, it should be no surprise that he is currently the league's all-time leader in rushing yards before the age of 21. Allen carried the football 92 times for 334 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie with the Jets in 2024, primarily operating as the backup to starter Breece Hall. Allen and Hall should continue to form a 1-2 punch for the Jets in 2025. The former Badger's league record should hold for some time. Moving forward, it will be interesting to watch whether he can surpass any other legendary name on this list. For reference, Ezekiel Elliott totaled an NFL-best 1,631 yards as a 21-year-old rookie in 2016. Allen would need a 1,300-yard output in 2025 to reach that mark. Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
It's crucial that Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars avoided sacks this year
Pressure causes sacks. Shocking statement, I know. But, what if I told you that sacks as a statistic are far more indicative of quarterback play rather than the offensive line. Let's take a look at sacks in the NFL and just what they mean to an offense. Sacks are a death sentence for offensive drives in the NFL. Since 2020, score rates drop from 41.2% on drives without a sack to just 23.3% on drives with at least one sack according to TruMedia. Advertisement The difference in points scored on those drives is even more drastic. On drives without a sack, teams scored an average of 2.26 points per drive compared to a mere 1.03 points per drive on those with at least one. A single sack on any given drive cuts a team's average points per drive by more than 50%. It's for this reason why offensive line play and thus a quarterback's ability to avoid sacks are so important. Everyone talks about how important pass-protection is, but not enough conversation is had regarding a quarterback's ability to avoid sacks. It might be the single-most underrated talent in the NFL today. >>> STREAM ACTION SPORTS JAX 24/7 LIVE <<< Advertisement An easy way to justify sacks being a quarterback stat rather than that of the offensive line is looking at the least sacked quarterbacks in NFL history by percentage. It's by no coincidence that Dan Marino, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, and Patrick Mahomes all find themselves within the top-ten. Avoiding sacks isn't just about escaping and making plays off script, it's also about knowing where to go with the ball when in the face of pressure. It's actually a fairly reliable way to evaluate quarterback talent. The active leaders in sack rate are Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Jared Goff, Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence and Justin Herbert. Sack rate on pressured drop backs, however, is an even better indicator of a quarterback's ability to avoid sacks as it normalizes pressure rate differences between teams. For instance, due to the Jaguars' and Dolphins' extremely quick time to throw, it naturally reduces the chances of pressures occurring and therefore sacks as well. That's partially why Trevor Lawrence and Tua Tagovailoa's sack rates are so low. When looking at pressure to sack rates, none have been better than Mahomes and Allen. Advertisement Mahomes led in 2022 and was second in 2023. Allen led in 2023 and was second in 2024. For context, Mahomes' career pressure to sack rate is 12.4% and Allen's is 12.9%. In regards to the Jaguars, Lawence has historically been pretty solid at avoiding sacks, all the way back to his college days. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Pressure to sack rates have been a fairly transferable statistic from college to the NFL. Trevor Lawrence's 16.4% pressure to sack rate in the NFL is nearly identical to his 16.7% rate during his final season at Clemson. While most pressure to sack rates don't change much over the course of a player's career, Lawrence has sadly regressed each of the last three seasons despite his pass-protection improving. According to Pro Football Focus, Lawrence posted a career best 14.5% pressure to sack rate (6th) in 2021. He then posted a 14.6% in 2022 (5th), 18.4% in 2023 (18th), and finally 20.0% in 2024 (17th). Each year, he's regressed in his ability to avoid sacks. It's hard to nail down the exact reason or reasons for this gradual decline. Lawrence's ability to create plays outside of the pocket has similarly declined over time. Advertisement In 2022, Lawrence ranked fourth in EPA per play. That number dropped to just 31st in 2023, and then all the way to dead last (40th) this past season. In 2024, Lawrence completed just seven of his 29 pass attempts outside the pocket (24.1%) according to Fantasy Points. For reference, that ranked 39th among 39 qualifying quarterbacks and quite frankly it wasn't close. Anthony Richardson, who was 38th, completed 40.4% of his attempts outside the pocket. Lawrence has shown that he's capable of being among the best in the NFL both at avoiding sacks and at producing outside of the pocket, however, that hasn't been the case the last couple of seasons. The additions of a new staff, interior offensive line, as well as Travis Hunter and Dyami Brown should do wonders for Lawrence in 2025. The support staff is there and better than ever for Lawrence, It's time for him to right the ship and get the Jacksonville Jaguars back to the playoffs. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action Sports Jax 24/7 live.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Social media ban moves closer in Australia after tech trial
HighlightsAustralia's world-first social media ban for users under the age of 16 is set to be implemented following a successful trial demonstrating that age verification technology is both feasible and can be integrated into existing platforms. The government-commissioned Age Assurance Technology Trial concluded that there are no significant technological barriers to preventing users under 16 from accessing social media accounts, with various methods tested including facial scans and behavioral inference. Digital platforms such as Snapchat, Meta Platforms Inc.'s Instagram, and X will be tasked with enforcing the new age limit, facing penalties of up to A$50 million ($32 million) for non-compliance. 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. 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. 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.
India Today
5 hours ago
- Business
- India Today
Kids under 16 may soon face social media ban after Australia proves it has tech for age verification
Australia is preparing to become the first country in the world to enforce a nationwide ban on social media use for children under the age of 16. This bold move now appears increasingly likely after a major government-backed trial found that age verification technology can work both effectively and privately. The Age Assurance Technology Trial, involving over 1,000 school students and hundreds of adults, tested how well current tools could verify a user's age without over-collecting personal data. The trial was overseen by the UK-based nonprofit Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS), and the results are being seen as a key step towards making Australia's proposed legislation a no significant tech barrier to age assurance in Australia,' said Tony Allen, CEO of ACCS. Speaking at an online briefing, Allen acknowledged that no system is perfect, but emphasised that 'age assurance can be done in Australia privately, efficiently and effectively.'Although some tools may collect more data than necessary, Allen stressed the importance of balance. 'There's a risk some solutions over-collect data that won't even be used. That's something to watch.'Here is how the system will work At the heart of the proposed verification model is a layered approach. It begins with traditional ID-based checks using documents like passport or driver's licence. These are verified through independent systems, and platforms never directly access the estimation adds another layer: users can upload a selfie or short video that AI analyses to determine age. This method is quick and does not store biometric data. A third component – contextual inference – draws from behavioural patterns such as email type, language, and digital behaviour to further estimate a user's age. While not reliable alone, it helps strengthen the system when used with other these technologies aim to prevent children from easily bypassing checks while also respecting December 2025, platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and X will be required to take 'reasonable steps' to keep underage users off their services. If they fail, they could face penalties of up to A$49.5 million (which is about US $32 million) per platforms, including YouTube, WhatsApp and Google Classroom, are exempt for now. Australia's move is being closely monitored by other countries, including the UK, New Zealand, and members of the EU, all of which are exploring ways to regulate children's access to social media. The Australian government sees this trial as proof that privacy and child protection can go hand in hand. A spokesperson for the eSafety Commissioner's office reportedly called the findings 'a useful indication of the likely outcomes from the trial', and added that when deployed correctly, the technologies 'can be private, robust and effective.'Despite the positive trial results, there are still some caveats. Children may try to bypass age checks using VPNs, shared devices or borrowed credentials. It will now be up to social media platforms to detect and prevent these workarounds – a responsibility they've rarely shouldered at this scale In
