Key points
- New laws ban under-16s from social media access
- Age checks extend to apps, AI chatbots, and messaging
- Non-compliance risks fines up to $49.5 million
ISLAMABAD: In a significant shift for online privacy, Australia is set to introduce new regulations requiring a wide range of digital platforms—including search engines, social media sites, app stores, and AI chatbots—to verify the ages of their users.
This move aims to enhance online safety by ensuring that children and teenagers are protected from inappropriate content and interactions, marking a major change from the previous norm where anonymity on the internet was largely unquestioned, according to The Guardian.
Social Media is Now Banned for Children Under 16 in Australia pic.twitter.com/efCYkXHGC0
— Pirat_Nation 🔴 (@Pirat_Nation) November 28, 2024
The Albanese government recently passed legislation banning under-16s from social media, effective this December. Yet, broader changes are underway through industry codes developed by tech companies and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant under the Online Safety Act.
These codes will likely have a far wider impact on how Australians use the internet.
Verifying age
Online platforms might verify age using account history, facial recognition, or bank card checks. From December, logged-in accounts on search engines will also need identity checks, such as driver’s licences, to prevent under-16s from accessing social media. Search engines must implement age verification for all accounts and enable safe search features for users under 18, filtering out explicit content.
Six more draft codes are being considered to extend similar age checks across app stores, AI chatbots, and messaging apps. Any service hosting or facilitating access to adult content, self-harm material, violent games, or other inappropriate content must ensure that children cannot access it.
Inman Grant highlighted the importance of layered safety measures, focusing on “critical chokepoints” like app stores and devices, which serve as gateways where children first declare their age.
Device-level age verification
While some welcome these changes, concerns exist. For example, Elon Musk’s AI Grok includes a pornographic chat function despite being rated suitable for 12+ on Apple’s app store, prompting calls for stricter app ratings and protections. Apple and Google are also developing device-level age verification.
The U/16 social media ban Bill passed and just like that Australian children get a lovely taste of communism… What could possibly go wrong from here? Big Brother is watching. pic.twitter.com/ndwcXpXmOm
— katy 🌸 (@KatyKray73) November 28, 2024
Justin Warren, founder of PivotNine, called the codes “a massive overreaction” that ironically gives foreign tech firms more control over Australians’ online lives.
However, Digi, an industry body involved in drafting the codes, insisted they target specific content platforms and do not require blanket identity checks online. Many services may use “inference methods” like usage patterns to estimate age, reducing the need for intrusive verification.
Provoking public backlash
John Pane, chair of Electronic Frontiers Australia, warned that many Australians are unaware that search engines will require age verification to access adult content, which could provoke public backlash. Non-compliance with the codes can result in fines up to $49.5 million, with additional measures like delisting sites.
Pane advocates for legislative reforms to privacy and AI regulation, favouring laws imposing a duty of care on platforms rather than regulatory agency fiat. Warren remains sceptical about the effectiveness of the age verification tech, noting that the search engine code was introduced before trial results were available.
In response to recent criticism, the eSafety Commissioner’s office defended the inclusion of search engines, calling them a primary gateway for children to harmful content and emphasising the importance of these safeguards.
