Australia Introduces Age Verification System for Social Media
The Australian government is set to launch a user age verification system through selfies in December to restrict teenagers' access to social media. However, a report indicates that certain user groups face an “unacceptable” level of inaccuracies with the program, as reported by Reuters.
The report notes that age determination programs based on photos are generally accurate, quick, and respect privacy, but yield poorer results for individuals close to the minimum legal age of 16. According to the authors, post-ban effectiveness will vary by demographic: for instance, white individuals at 19 years old are unlikely to face issues, whereas non-white individuals and teenage girls may encounter difficulties.
This situation complicates matters for platforms owned by Meta (Instagram) and Alphabet (YouTube), as they will be legally required to prove they are taking adequate steps to block access to users under 16; otherwise, they face fines up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (32 million USD).
Testing of the program showed high accuracy for individuals over 19, but those aged 16-18 are in a “grey area” with a higher likelihood of errors. For 16-year-olds, the risk of being misidentified as underage is 8.5%, which means additional verification may be implemented – through documents or parental consent, according to the report.
“While the systems generally performed well across different user groups, the accuracy of some programs was lower for older individuals, non-white users, and individuals appearing feminine who are near the defined legal age threshold,” the report stated.
Social media experts expressed doubts about the feasibility of implementing the ban within three months.
“It seems the accuracy of results is highly variable. This variability raises concerns given the tight timeline for launching a reliable system by year-end,” said Justin Humphrey, a media researcher from the University of Sydney specializing in internet security.
According to Communication Minister Anika Wells, the report demonstrates that “there is no universal solution for age verification, but this testing showed many effective options, and importantly, that user privacy protection is feasible.”
As reported by IMI, on November 8, 2024, Australian states unanimously supported a national plan to ban children under 16 from using social media. At the end of November 2024, the Australian government passed a law imposing hefty fines on social media platforms for violating the proposed ban on their services to children under 16.
However, the government made an exception for YouTube, as explained by Communication Minister's spokesperson Michelle Rowland, stating that YouTube is a source of entertainment but also an important educational resource used by children, parents, educators, and schools.
Starting December 2025, a ban on social media for teenagers under 16 will come into effect in Australia. Authorities promise to impose heavy fines on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and other platforms if they fail to verify the age of their users and block accounts of minors.
