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Internet watchdog unveils guidance for tech firms

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Social media firms should use existing data to estimate

age

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Blanket age verification process "unreasonable", regulator

says

By Renju Jose

SYDNEY, Sept 16 (Reuters) - Australia urged social media

platforms on Tuesday to employ "minimally invasive" methods to

check the age of users covered by its world-first teen social

media ban, which take into account artificial intelligence (AI)

and behavioural data.

Governments and tech firms worldwide are closely watching

Australia's effort to become the first country to block use of

social media by those younger than 16, starting from December.

"eSafety recommends the most minimally invasive techniques

available," the internet watchdog said in its guidance for firms

to comply with the law passed in November.

Social media platforms are not required to conduct blanket

age-verification as firms can use existing data to infer age

reliably, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.

"We know that they have the targeting technology to do

this," she told a media briefing.

"They can target us with deadly precision when it comes to

advertising, certainly they can do this around the age of a

child."

She added, "Adults should not see huge changes ... it would

be unreasonable if platforms re-verify everyone's age."

In July, Grant widened the ban to Alphabet-owned

YouTube, following complaints by Meta's Facebook and

Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok about an earlier

decision to exempt the video-sharing site popular with teachers.

Google and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for

comment.

In February, eSafety said 95% of teenagers aged 13 to 15

reported using at least one social media platform since January

2024, but warned that the actual numbers could be much higher.

Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells urged

"reasonable steps" by social media companies to detect and

deactivate underage accounts, to prevent re-registration and

provide an accessible complaints process for their users.

"We cannot control the ocean, but we can police the sharks

and today we are making clear to the rest of the world how we

intend to do this," Wells told reporters.

There was no excuse for non-compliance, she added, as the

platforms had the capability to do so, ranking among the world's

biggest and best-resourced companies.

Amid concern about the impact on young people's mental

health, Australia's ban passed into law in November 2024, with

companies given a year to adopt it, while facing a December 10

deadline to deactivate the accounts of underage users.

($1=1.4993 Australian dollars)