It’s possible to provide truly anonymous age checks online – but it takes investment.
Articles on Age assurance
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A new report on age assurance technology leaves key questions about Australia’s looming youth social media ban unanswered
The government’s trial has found age-assurance for its under-16 social media ban can be done, however admitting it can’t be one-size-fits-all.
The trial’s preliminary findings are hard to square with other evidence.
Even those involved in the trial admit there are major problems with the tech that’s being tested.
The trial is testing age verification, age estimation and age inference. All three options come with problems.
If the government fails to pass legislation, the fallback could be a hodgepodge of state actions.
Meta wants Apple and Google to force parents to approve apps on their child’s phone. A better solution would be for the tech giants to cooperate.
Major tech platforms have been given six months to come up with an enforceable code that protects children from harmful material online. What might that look like?
There are various methods for estimating or verifying an online user’s age, none of them foolproof. Importantly, is this the social media future we want?
The Australian government will test tools to shield kids from inappropriate material online. Even though there’s no one easy fix, these checks could help.
Top contributors
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Professor of Cybersecurity, School of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Information Sciences & Director, Social Change Enabling Impact Platform, RMIT University
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Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
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Professor of Cyber Security Practice, Edith Cowan University
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Senior Lecturer in Pedagogy and Education Futures, La Trobe University
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Senior Lecturer in Communication, Deakin University
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Graduate Researcher, School of Communication and Creative Arts, Deakin University
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Acting Professor of Statistics, Security & Trust, University of Münster
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Adjunct Senior Fellow, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland