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> Instead of an analysis of the effectiveness and privacy of the tech
services on offer, Pane said the final report is more of a sales pitch
for age authentication, identity verification and biometrics.
> He said that the finding that age assurance can be “private, robust
and effective” is an “aspirational statement” rather than a statement of
fact, and that all the offerings have “significant gaps and margins of
error”.
‘Big, red F’: Age assurance advisor hits out at final report
Says the government is dreaming.
Denham Sadler
Information Age
Sep 03 2025 02:55 PM
https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2025/-big--red-f---age-assurance-advisor-hits-out-at-final-report.html
A former member of the advisory board overseeing the federal
government’s age assurance trial has hit out at its final report,
labelling it a “sales pitch” and “bad policy”.
Electronic Frontiers Australia chair John Pane was a member of the Age
Assurance Technology Trial’s Stakeholder Advisory Board until
mid-August, when he resigned over concerns with preliminary findings
released by the group.
The trial was commissioned by the federal government ahead of the
implementation of a ban on children aged under 16 from having accounts
on specific social media platforms.
The final report was released by the federal government earlier this
week, and claimed that age assurance can be done in Australia in a way
that is “private, robust and effective”, but that there is no single
solution that can be used.
The report was welcomed by Communications Minister Anika Wells, who said
there was now “no excuse” for social media platforms to not have age
verification methods in place by the time the ban is introduced.
From mid-December, the onus will be on tech companies to take
“reasonable steps” to ensure those aged under 16 do not hold accounts,
but what these steps will entail is yet to be revealed by the government.
‘Gap-ridden’
Pane said that the trial’s final report contains critical issues and
gives tech companies a “free pass” based merely on the existence of
privacy policies.
Instead of an analysis of the effectiveness and privacy of the tech
services on offer, Pane said the final report is more of a sales pitch
for age authentication, identity verification and biometrics.
“Clearly neither the minister nor her staff has closely examined the
report,” Pane said.
“It is bad policy, and a gap-ridden technological solution that is
easily circumvented by technical means or third-party collusion.
“It does not solve the problem of algorithmic manipulation that steals
users’ attention and engagement, nor does it fix the inherent
shortcomings in our privacy and online safety laws through a mandated
Digital Duty of Care.”
“The government earns a big, red ‘F’ from Electronic Frontiers Australia
on this initiative.”
He said that the finding that age assurance can be “private, robust and
effective” is an “aspirational statement” rather than a statement of
fact, and that all the offerings have “significant gaps and margins of
error”.
“Privacy compliance and operational effectiveness cannot be inferred by
the simple presence and reading of an externally facing privacy policy,”
Pane said.
“There must be a detailed analysis undertaken of the organisational
privacy framework, risks register and controls register.”
In the final report, the trial recommended more regulatory guidance
around the retention of personal data from the federal government and
the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).
“Social media platforms don’t have Know Your Customer (KYC) obligations
like banks do,” Pane said.
“Instead, this kind of data should be securely destroyed as soon as
possible after age authentication has been proven.
“The OAIC has published detailed public guidance on these issues for
over 20 years. Perhaps no one bothered to look?”
Pane is not the first member of the advisory board to resign over
concerns about the methods undertaken for the trial, with Tim Levy, the
managing director of children’s safety technology company Qoria,
resigning earlier this year, as Crikey first reported.
Crackdown on ‘nudify’ apps
The federal government also this week announced plans to further
restrict the use and distribution of “nudify” apps using AI to create
nude images, and online stalking technology.
“We need to draw a line in the sand,” Wells told ABC this week.
“We need to change the culture around this. We need to put the onus back
on tech platforms.
“There’ll be more work in that space with the Digital Duty of Care
coming down the line.”
--
Roger Clarke mailto:roger.cla...@xamax.com.au
T: +61 2 6288 6916 http://www.xamax.com.au http://www.rogerclarke.com
Xamax Consultancy Pty Ltd 78 Sidaway St, Chapman ACT 2611 AUSTRALIA
Visiting Professorial Fellow UNSW Law & Justice
Visiting Professor in Computer Science Australian National University
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