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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)