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[ Inman Grant initially managed to get the media to publish her
preferred lines about accurate age-estimation.
[ But somehow the line snuck in that social media platforms are not
required to conduct blanket age-verification, just try hard enough.
[ The fairyland atmosphere is added to by the Opposition spokesperson
claiming we can police sharks - shortly after a death at a Sydney beach.
Gov wants 'minimally invasive' age checks for teen social media ban
Ban comes into effect in December.
Renju Jose
itNews
Sep 17 2025 6:23AM
https://www.itnews.com.au/news/gov-wants-minimally-invasive-age-checks-for-teen-social-media-ban-620334
Australia urged social media platforms to employ "minimally invasive"
methods to check the age of users covered by its world-first teen social
media ban, including account artificial intelligence (AI) and
behavioural data.
Gov wants 'minimally invasive' age checks for teen social media ban
Governments and tech firms worldwide are closely watching Australia's
effort to become the first country to block the 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."
[ It's not supported by empirical studies. But marketers say it, and
they wouldn't lie to us, so it must be true. ]
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 percent 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.
--
Roger Clarke mailto:[email protected]
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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