Australia Calls for Low-Impact Age Checks in Teen Social Media Ban
Australia is pushing social media companies to use “minimally invasive” methods to verify users’ ages, as the country prepares to enforce a groundbreaking ban on social media access for anyone under 16. The new law, set to take effect in December 2025, will make Australia the first nation to implement such a restriction.
The eSafety Commissioner has released formal guidance urging platforms to avoid blanket age-verification processes. Instead, companies are encouraged to use existing data, artificial intelligence and behavioural signals to determine a user’s age.
Social Media Firms Expected to Act Responsibly
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant stated that tech firms already possess the tools needed for precise age estimation. “They can target users with extreme precision for advertising,” she said. “There’s no reason they can’t use similar tools to protect children.”
Grant emphasised that adults should not experience significant disruptions. She also highlighted that universal age re-verification would be “unreasonable”.
Social media giants like Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram), Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube are expected to comply. In July, the commissioner added YouTube to the list of platforms under the ban, following pushback from other platforms over its previous exclusion.
Strong Government Support for Child Online Safety
Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells reinforced the government’s firm stance. She urged platforms to take “reasonable steps” to detect and remove underage users, stop them from rejoining, and provide easy complaint mechanisms.
“We cannot control the ocean, but we can police the sharks,” Wells said, stressing that Australia is setting a global benchmark. She also made it clear that major tech firms have no excuse for failing to comply.
In February, eSafety reported that 95% of teenagers aged 13 to 15 had used at least one social media platform since the beginning of 2024. The real number may be even higher, raising concerns about mental health and online safety.
The law, passed in November 2024, gave social media companies one year to implement age restrictions. They now face a December 10 deadline to identify and deactivate accounts belonging to users under the age of 16.
with inputs from Reuters
