- Australia’s social media ban begins Wednesday, November 10
- Some social media platforms will start removing accounts this week
- Experts warn of significant privacy and security trade-offs
Australia’s landmark social media ban will be rolled out next week. Starting on December 10, popular social media platforms – including Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube – will be required to take “reasonable steps” to prevent people under the age of 16 from using their services. If they fail to do so, they could face fines of up to $49.5 million AUD (approximately $32 million USD).
Communications Minister Anika Wells said the legislation follows a “moral imperative” to protect kids online. “We stand firm on the side of parents and not on the platforms,” Wells told the BBC.
However, the privacy risks of mandatory age checks are causing alarm among experts. “Age verification systems are surveillance systems that threaten everyone’s privacy and anonymity. But Australia’s government recently decided to ignore these dangers,” the US-based civil society organization EFF has argued.
Details about the specific age verification methods that will be used are still emerging. However, it appears some are trying to get ahead of the problem and introduce measures early.
Meta announced it’s going to start deactivating existing accounts this week. It said it would notify impacted accounts to “give them an opportunity to save their contacts and memories” before the deadline.
The company has argued that using app-store level verification methods would have been more effective than platform-specific measures. While an initial investigation by The Guardian indicates its video selfie platform is working successfully for some, results from the Australian Government’s Age Assurance Technology Trial suggest that facial age estimation systems may be less effective for Indigenous Australians and those closer to the age of 16.
TikTok and Snap have said that they would use behavior-tracking technologies to predict the age of a user. “Where we identify someone that is saying they’re 25, but the behaviors would indicate that they’re below the age of 16, from December 10th we will have those accounts deactivated,” TikTok’s public policy lead for Australia, Ella Woods-Joyce, told Reuters.
Snapchat has since started implementing age verification checks ahead of the December 10 introduction date. To verify user’s age, the platform offers two options: ConnectID, which validates identity via existing banking data, or k-ID, which uses government identification and facial scanning technology.
During the initial two-year review, the methods used may change. “This isn’t a cure, it’s a treatment plan, and treatment plans will always evolve as we can adapt and address harm and see what works and what doesn’t,” Wells told the BBC.
Privacy implications of age verification
With each social media platform adopting different tools to verify users’ ages, it’s hard to assess the overall impact on people’s privacy. While it’s likely some tools will be more privacy-preserving than others, almost all involve the collection and analysis of sensitive data, ranging from official documents to biometric analysis or behavior analysis.
Cyber safety expert Stacey Edmonds has warned that collecting this data en masse could lead to an increase in scams. “What’s the number one thing scammers and predators want from us?” Our data and personal details … and we’re giving them out,” Edmonds told ABC.
Dr Catherine Page Jeffery, a lecturer in Media and Communications at the University of Sydney, echoed these concerns in a statement: “Young people and parents doubt it will work and worry about privacy and data security.”
Workarounds could put children’s security at risk
As with similar restrictions seen in the UK and several US states – most recently Missouri – there’s also likely to be an increase in demand for VPNs across Australia in the coming week. However, this rush to bypass restrictions could lead users into dangerous territory.
“A lot of people will search for a free VPN and that will download a host of other spam software onto your computer or your phone, creating further risks for data breach,” Daswin De Silva, Professor of AI and analytics at La Trobe University, told ABC News.
Given the risks associated with using many free VPNs, it’s important to use a reputable brand. Here at TechRadar, we recommend NordVPN and Surfshark as the best VPN available.
“It’s going to look a bit untidy on the way through,” Minister Wells said. “Big reforms always do.” However, the internet is particularly messy, and interfering with one element almost always causes unintended consequences elsewhere.
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samuel.woodhams@futurenet.com (Samuel Woodhams)
