Technology could ban under-16s from social media, trial finds

A technology trial in Australia has shown that there are "robust and effective" systems in place to ban under-16s from accessing social media and comply with a law that comes into force in December, it was announced today.

"Age verification is possible," says the report released by the Age Assurance Technology Trial, an independent organisation commissioned by Canberra to carry out the study, which says there are several methods to ensure that under-16s do not log into social media.

According to this report, a preliminary study whose final version is expected to be delivered to the Australian Government by the end of the year, the assessment carried out so far "has not revealed substantial technological limitations that prevent" age verification, which Australia is trying to implement in legislation.

The Australian Senate approved last November a rule - described by the country as innovative - that prohibits access to social networks by minors under 16 years of age, under penalty of fines of up to 32.5 million dollars (30.7 million euros) for platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, that violate it.

The study's findings are partly a response to previous challenges to the law by technology companies, which questioned the viability and even legality of the X social network, saying it might not be compatible with international regulations and human rights treaties to which Australia is a signatory.

Project director Tony Allen noted in the report that the solutions are "technically feasible" and "can be flexibly integrated into existing services."

Iain Corby, one of those responsible for the trial, explained to the EFE agency that the systems tested include facial detection, parental control, date of birth verification and age verification on other platforms, such as app stores.

Australian public broadcaster ABC reported Thursday that facial detection software was 85 percent effective in identifying children's faces, with a margin of error of about 18 months in calculating a person's age.

Experts admit that, although there is a wide variety of systems that adapt to different cases, they have not yet found a universal solution that "guarantees its effectiveness in all applications".

They also consider the systems to be secure against identity theft and falsification by artificial intelligence, but warn that, in the digital environment, which is "rapidly evolving", the mechanisms studied "cannot be considered infallible and must be continually monitored and improved".

The law includes the exclusion of minors who already have accounts on the networks and seeks to protect children and adolescents from bullying and potential mental health problems.

The ban extends to social networks Reddit and X, but excludes low-risk platforms such as YouTube, and does not impose sanctions on users who violate it.

It should be noted that there has been much discussion about minors' access to social networks. In May of this year, for example, France said it wanted to join forces to ensure that the EU bans access to social networks for minors under 15 years of age.

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