The Australian government has committed to legislating a 16-year-old age limit for access to social media, with penalties for online platforms that fail to comply.
But the Labor government has not explained how it expects Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and others to enforce that age limit. Anthony Albanese is facing pressure from the Coalition opposition to fast-track the bill’s passage through parliament in the next three weeks, although a federal trial of the age-checking technology has yet to begin.
Albanese and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland did not rule out the possibility of social media users subjecting their faces to biometric scanning, of online platforms verifying users’ ages using a government database, or of all social media users, regardless of age: be subject to age controls, and only say that it would be up to technology companies to establish their own processes.
The prime minister confirmed the age limit at a news conference on Thursday, in the latest step in the government’s increasing scrutiny of major tech platforms, with plans to introduce legislation in parliament this month. His government had announced its plan to legislate an age limit, but had been deliberating over where to set that threshold, with expectations that it would be between 14 and 16 years old.
But questions have been raised, which remain unanswered, about how it could be applied effectively.
The onus would be on social media platforms to “demonstrate that they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access” by young people, Albanese said. There would be no sanctions for users who managed to access social networks under the age of 16, or for their parents, but Rowland said there would be sanctions for platforms that did not respect the new laws.
“The eSafety commissioner will have responsibility for enforcing the law and penalties need to be strengthened to ensure compliance,” he said, adding that current penalties below $1 million in existing legislation were not sufficient.
Albanese expressed concerns about the effect of social media on young people, including the potential for content related to misogyny or body image, as his reasoning for the new laws. He said he had spoken to “thousands” of parents and other adults about the issue.
“They, like me, are very concerned about the safety of our children online,” he said. “I want Australian parents and families to know the government has their back. I want parents to be able to say, ‘Sorry, buddy, that’s against the law.'”
Rowland said platforms would “need to take reasonable steps” to ensure the age of the user. The government is still carrying out a trial, funded by the May budget, of possible technological options for age assurance.
The United Kingdom, which has implemented age control legislation, outlined possible options including allowing banks or mobile providers to confirm that a user is over 18, credit checks, using facial estimation technology and asking users to upload a photo to the site which is then compared. with photo identification.
Advice provided to the Australian government said that “no country has implemented a seamless age verification mandate”.
A roadmap for age verification, published last year by the eSafety commissioner, who will be tasked with enforcing the new age limit, recommended a “double-blind tokenized approach” in which a third-party provider would transfer information between sites and age control providers to protect user privacy. The roadmap found that the age insurance market was “immature but developing”.
Shadow communications minister David Coleman said the issue was “urgent” and called for the bill to be passed quickly by the end of November, even before the age guarantee trial reports on what options exist. to enforce that law.
The government has not set a timetable for when it wants the bill to be passed, but has not ruled out legislating before the trial renders its conclusions.
Albanese and Rowland did not respond directly when asked whether Australians should prepare to have their faces scanned or their IDs checked to access social media.
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Rowland said these questions would be answered by the age-check test, but added: “These platforms know their users better than anyone.”
Albanese cited the example of some young people who managed to access alcohol, despite the age limit of 18, admitting that the laws would not prevent all access to social media.
“What we want to make clear, from the beginning, is that we do not pretend that a 100% result can be obtained here,” he said.
“We’re not arguing that the changes we’ll legislate will immediately fix everything… But those laws set what the parameters are for our society and help ensure the right outcomes.”
When asked if all social media users, regardless of age, would need to verify that they were over 18, Rowland said that would be up to the technology companies.
Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta said it would comply with the legislation if necessary, but questioned whether the technology was ready.
“The idea that you can somehow force the industry to be in a technological place that it’s not in is probably a little misinterpreted in terms of where the industry is,” the global security chief told reporters. of Goal, Antigone Davis, on Thursday.
Meta has argued that app stores like those run by Apple and Google should bear the burden of law enforcement, noting that teenagers can use up to 40 different apps, all of which would require age checks.
Davis said requiring an age guarantee for every app would be complicated, time-consuming and present a privacy risk.
“The current state of age monitoring technology…requires a level of personally identifiable information to be shared,” he said.
“Usually it is in the form of identification or identity document, documentation or biometric data, facial feature data for youth, and if it is parental consent, the data that will be involved there to verify the Parents are just another additional layer of data. establish”.
Snapchat and Google have also been contacted for comment. TikTok declined to comment.