{"id":172625,"date":"2025-09-27T11:13:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T11:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/172625\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T11:13:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T11:13:12","slug":"bold-promises-as-questions-remain-unanswered-just-three-months-from-australias-under-16-social-media-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/172625\/","title":{"rendered":"Bold promises as questions remain unanswered just three months from Australia\u2019s under-16 social media ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Anthony Albanese talked up his impending social media ban for under-16s this week to world leaders in New York, Australia\u2019s eSafety Commission boss was on the other side of the USA attempting to figure out if Silicon Valley tech giants would actually comply with it.<\/p>\n

Just hours before the Prime Minister hosted national leaders at an event on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Commissioner Julie Inman Grant released a list of 16 other platforms to which the ban may also apply.<\/p>\n

Curtin University internet studies professor Tama Leaver said the juxtaposition of the Prime Minister touting an unreleased ban on the world stage while Ms Innman Grant did the boardroom grunt work was emblematic of the policy \u2014 headline grabbing but hard to achieve.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe fact that you know that the Prime Minister and Communications Minister are both off to the UN to talk about how \u2018cool\u2019 this is before we turn it on, and before it potentially blows up in everyone\u2019s face \u2014 seems optimistic at best,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Professor Leaver said a simple look back over government communication around the ban \u2014 like pairing \u201cworld-leading\u201d policy with claims it \u201cisn\u2019t a sliver bullet\u201d and \u201cwon\u2019t be precise\u201d \u2014 proved doubts about its implementation were valid.<\/p>\n

The expanded list of apps released this week includes lesser-known apps that aren\u2019t explicitly defined as a social media platform, like Discord, Roblox, WhatsApp, Reddit, Lego Play, GitHub, and Twitch among others.<\/p>\n

It comes after more than six months of engaging with the larger, better-known apps \u2014 Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube.<\/p>\n

Though the eSafety Commission has contacted 16, there could be up to 100 platforms in the greyzone.<\/p>\n

While not traditionally thought of social media apps, some apps have expanded features \u2014 things like messaging or gaming apps that may have been diversified to have an AI chatbot, breakout forums or video sharing.<\/p>\n

Some have even been linked or played a role in harmful content or events.<\/p>\n

Discord has been linked to the assassination of US commentator Charlie Kirk and Nepal\u2019s deadly anti-corruption protests. Firechat has been used in protests in Taiwan, Iran, and Iraq. And several others have been linked to child exploitation and grooming.<\/p>\n

Letters from the eSafety Commission request these grey-zone platforms conduct a self-assessment of their age verification technology and methods. Platforms are able to do so via a tool created by eSafety.<\/p>\n

The deadline for many of those platforms to respond is next month.<\/p>\n

Ms Inman Grant\u2019s US west coast boardroom blitz of several big tech companies included Snap, Discord, Open AI, Anthropic, and Character AI \u2014 with hopes of locking in chats with major players Meta and Google.<\/p>\n

While platforms by now would likely be able to work out if their service will be included \u2014 but less than three months from the implementation date, they also haven\u2019t explicitly been told.<\/p>\n

Digital Industry Group Inc \u2014 the peak body representing social media companies in Australia \u2014 has called clarity for industry and the public, with the countdown on to December 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith less than 100 days remaining until the proposed enforcement deadline, clarity for industry and the public is essential,\u201d managing director Sunita Bose said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe remain committed to working constructively with the eSafety Commissioner\u2019s Office and the Government to ensure that any age assurance framework is workable, reliable, and effective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Bose said DIGI was \u201ccarefully\u201d reviewing the eSafety Commissioner\u2019s reasonable steps guidance released this week and looked forward to further details and engagement ahead of implementation.<\/p>\n

But the eSafety Commission confirmed to The Sunday Times that ultimately, it did not have the final call to determine which platforms are in and which are out. Rather, they could only recommend to apps if they believed they should comply.<\/p>\n

\u201ceSafety does not have a role in formally declaring which services are age-restricted social media platforms. Only a court can do this, however, eSafety\u2019s view will underpin its approach to enforcement when the social media minimum age obligation takes effect on December 10,\u201d a spokesman told The Sunday Times.<\/p>\n

\u201cAny platform eSafety believes to be age-restricted will be expected to comply.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the government\u2019s social media ban goes to plan, when users aged under 16 open their phones on December 10 their social media accounts will be wiped.<\/p>\n

Those close to 16 could also temporarily lose their accounts.<\/p>\n

For accounts wrongfully axed, it should be a \u201cfrictionless\u201d experience to reactivate their accounts.<\/p>\n

Apps like Messenger Kids, WhatsApp, Kids Helpline, Google Classroom and YouTube Kids are not expected to be part of the ban.<\/p>\n

Incorrectly removed users \u2014 and those signing up for the first time \u2014 should also have multiple options to verify their age and won\u2019t be compelled to share their government ID.<\/p>\n

Adults aren\u2019t expected to be affected and only those aged close to 16 are likely to have accounts deactivated.<\/p>\n

Tech companies have been told they have to take \u201creasonable steps\u201d to detect and deactivate accounts based on a string of processes.<\/p>\n

It could include biometrics, search, and interaction history, and assessing whether a user\u2019s language or emoji use is immature.<\/p>\n

The eSafety Commission hasn\u2019t mandated a blanket approach to this age verification or told platforms how many alternative pathways they need to offer a user.<\/p>\n

Instead, Ms Inman Grant has left the door open to the platforms to decide what processes they will take.<\/p>\n

The only caveats are that there must be a review process, and apps can\u2019t rely on a government ID \u2014 it would be a breach if they did.<\/p>\n

\"OppositionOpposition communications spokeswoman Melissa McIntosh\/ Credit: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n

Shadow Communications Minister Melissa McIntosh has welcomed further regulation of children on social media but raised concerns about whether the age verification methods will work.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s among critics who say young people will simply find a way around it, but largely doubts that people can\u2019t be compelled to give over government ID.<\/p>\n

Communications Minister Anika Wells and Ms Inman Grant have repeatedly ruled out that government ID will need to be used.<\/p>\n

\"CommunicationsCommunications Minister Anika Wells. Credit: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n

Professor Leaver said in reality, it likely wouldn\u2019t impact people aged over 25 \u2014 mostly due to their data history \u2014 but cause headaches for people aged between 16 and 24.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor older adults, I don\u2019t think there\u2019ll be a problem,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor 17 to 19-year-olds, I think will be much harder for these technologies to pick up. I think will be a lot of false negatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt might be a frictionless experience for people who are over the age of 25 who don\u2019t realise that their older age has also been verified in terms simply because of their data histories and things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said if automated systems take down accounts and it takes weeks or months to get them reinstated, that could have a damaging impact on wellbeing but also their business, if they rely on social media for their income.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that has a real potential to upset and destabilise people who are relying on these accounts for whatever reason,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"CurtinCurtin University internet studies professor Tama Leaver. Credit: ABC News\/Supplied<\/p>\n

Ms Inman Grant claims that figuring out which users are underage shouldn\u2019t be an arduous process for tech companies.<\/p>\n

For one, they\u2019re some of the wealthiest in the world. They\u2019re also known to have sophisticated technology, leading engineering teams, and deadly precision in advertising and algorithms.<\/p>\n

After working in the sector for 22 years prior to taking on the eSafety job, Ms Inman Grant knows what\u2019s behind the curtain.<\/p>\n

But it was a claim from the head of Chinese social media giant TikTok that it can tell a child\u2019s age within three seconds of opening the app that gave her confidence big tech could comfortably comply.<\/p>\n

Chief among doubts about the efficacy of the ban are that young people could easily find ways around it. After UK laws requiring people to verify their age to access adult content were introduced, some VPN services \u2014 which creates an encrypted network to protect user data \u2014 saw their user count skyrocket.<\/p>\n

\"Australia'sAustralia’s world-first social media ban for under-16s comes into effect in December. Credit: Dean Lewis. \/AAP<\/p>\n

Already, Ms Inman Grant says she\u2019s aware of children trying to use artificial intelligence to create fake ID, images, or videos to allow them to bypass the measures that lock them out.<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s ban made headlines globally when it was first introduced to parliament in November last year. Among attendees at the PM\u2019s New York event were European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and leaders from Greece, Malta, Fiji, and Tonga.<\/p>\n

Ms von der Leyen told the audience she had been \u201cinspired\u201d by Australia\u2019s \u201cbold\u201d move and argued many European countries were pushing for similar laws. She had also praised it as \u201cplain common sense\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking in New York, Ms Wells rejected questions from Elon Musk\u2019s X on whether the under 16s social media ban could violate the human rights of children, coming after X called for it to be delayed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a number of international covenants that we are upholding by protecting the rights and wellbeing of children when there is so much evidence in now about particularly the mental harms that are afflicted to children by being exposed to social media too young \u2014 too young being before the age of 16,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think these are pioneering, innovating, some of the richest companies in the world. They transact a lot of business and they make a lot of revenue off Australians here on our shore, and I think it\u2019s reasonable to ask them to use some of that tech and some of that revenue to look after our kids online.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Anthony Albanese talked up his impending social media ban for under-16s this week to world leaders in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":172626,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44,84,6213,105],"class_list":["post-172625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-society","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}