Australia to impose the world’s first social media ban, affecting teenagers under the age of 16 – Passionategeekz

Passionategeekz June 21 news, Bloomberg published a blog post yesterday (June 20), reporting that Australia plans to target teenagers under the age of 16 in its territory after verification trials.The world’s first social media ban is about to be implemented.

The Australian government-led trial results show that technical means to verify user age is feasible and can be integrated into existing services.

Platforms such as Facebook’s parent company Meta, TikTok and Snap have questioned the reliability of the technology, but preliminary test results show that it is feasible, paving the way for the implementation of the law by the end of 2025 and providing reference for other countries.

Tony Allen, the head of the pilot project, saidPreventing teens under 16 from signing up for social media accounts “no significant technical barriers.”He noted that these solutions are technically feasible, flexible integration into existing services and support children’s online safety and rights.

Under the new law, digital platforms including Snapchat, Meta’s Instagram and X will be responsible for enforcing age restrictions, and violators may face fines of up to AU$50 million (Passionategeekz Note: the current exchange rate is approximately RMB 233 million).

The trial tested a variety of methods and techniques, including facial scanning, age inference based on user behavior, age verification, and parental control, and the trial also considered ways that adolescents might try to bypass age checks.

More than 50 companies participated in the trial, and mainstream mobile operating system developers such as Apple and Google were also involved. The trials did not evaluate the public’s acceptance of a particular technology or the associated costs, nor did they disclose the accuracy of different methods, such as the error range of facial analysis. Nevertheless, the trial provides a technical basis for Australia’s social media ban and also provides reference for other countries around the world.

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