Email age inference an option for Australians confused about social media law

Australia’s legislation prohibiting kids under 16 from having social media accounts takes effect on December 10. On that day, 2.8 million young people in Australia will be booted out of their existing accounts, and new accounts will be limited to users 16 and up. User-to-user social media platforms that do not take sufficient steps to detect and remove underage users, and implement age assurance measures, face fines of up to 49.5 million dollars (about 32.3 million U.S.). That includes Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, X and Reddit.

A press release from Verifymy calls it “the biggest social media exodus in history” – and asks whether the country is truly ready for the fallout. “The sheer scale of closures is expected to dwarf previous daily records,” it says, citing the estimated 115,000 users who left X on November 6, 2024, following the re-election of Donald Trump.

“It will be a sea change for kids, parents and platforms,” says Andy Lulham, COO at Verifymy. “For under-16s, who will have to go cold turkey, their accounts will likely be frozen, and contents archived until they become of age. Parents will need to steer them away from their favourite apps and find alternative ways they can stay connected with friends, be that through gaming or even AI.”

“For social media platforms, technology will be key to identify underage users and ensure these new rules are implemented quickly and consistently. Reassuringly, the government has acknowledged there is no one-size-fits-all solution for this safeguarding, opening the door to low-friction methods like email-based age checks.”

Verifymy is one of the primary providers of email-based age checks, which it invented. Technically classified as an age inference method, email age checks analyze the existing digital footprint of an email address to infer a user’s age.

Facial age estimation buffer age could leave 16s out of luck

Some of the most persistent questions about the so-called under-16 ban concern age thresholds for facial age estimation (FAE). The Sydney Morning Herald sums it up like so: “allowing 16-year-olds in may be the toughest part of social media ban.”

The Herald also quotes Verifymy’s Lulham, who points out that, “when you look at facial age estimation or age inference methods, obviously, determining who’s the day before their 16th birthday and the day after is challenging.”

It means that to keep out 16-year-olds, the threshold would have to be around 20, and people on the verge of the restricted age – on either side of it – could be mis-estimated. “There’s a trade-off,” Lulham says: “the more 14- and 15-year-olds that you keep out, the more 16- and 17- year olds you might also accidentally keep out.”

Lulham notes the importance of education to complement age assurance tech – a lesson that appears to have eluded Australian regulators, if Sky News is to be believed. A report asserts that “Australians have been left in the dark” about whether or not they will need to provide government identification to access social media.

Shadow communications minister Melissa McIntosh tells Sky there are rumors that “a platform may compel an Australian to use their government ID.” The law requires that platforms offer  “reasonable alternatives” to document verification. This is where solutions like email age inference come into play.

However, in addition to her allegation regarding identity documents, McIntosh says “the lack of a strong public education campaign to inform people about what is coming is also of great concern.”

The Australian government, it seems, could use a helpful daily briefing on the ins and outs of age assurance regulation and the biometric technology that aims to support it.

Some benefit from misinformation about digital identity

Concerns about privacy, traceability and surveillance are universal to age assurance debates worldwide. According to EuroNews, online misinformation has circulated claiming that France will enter an “era of total traceability” if its digital ID, France Identité, is directly linked to personal social media accounts.

Per the report, French MPs did consider linking the digital ID to citizens’ social media, but rejected the proposals.

“Digital IDs in general are often the subject of misleading narratives online,” the piece says. The motives are varied: some may be looking to cast their political opposition in a tyrannical light. Some may be fueled by conspiracy theories; others by real experiences and concerns that seem less exaggerated in an age of widespread repression. Some may be financially motivated, like the pushback from Big Tech over Australia’s incoming legislation.

Silicon Valley has a vested interest in seeing Australia’s law fail. Inasmuch as it is the first of its kind, the Australian Online Safety Act’s age assurance requirement for social platforms is serving as a model for many nations weighing similar moves. New Zealand is watching its neighbour closely, as are the UK and Canada.

Last week, Denmark’s government announced a political agreement to ban access to social media for users under 15; EuroNews says it “would be among the most sweeping steps yet by a European Union government to address concerns about the use of social media among teens and younger children.”

And, according to MLex, Norway is “moving ahead swiftly in the debate over children’s use of social media.” The Nordic nation is positioning itself as a leader on the issue, aiming to have laws in place by next summer following its analysis of feedback from a public consultation.

Karianne Oldernes Tung, Norway’s minister of digitalization and public governance, tells MLex “it is important that all European countries are engaged in developing age-verification systems, so that we can implement this across the continent.” Norway isn’t part of the EU, but as a member of the European Economic Area, it already aligns with the General Data Protection Regulation and the EU’s Digital Services Act.

Norway has set its definitive digital age of majority at 15. That differs slightly from some EU nations, which peg it at 16. But Tung says she hopes to find a “common European pathway.”

“I think we’re on the path to agree on verification systems, and then hopefully we also will agree on setting a common age or minimum age limit as well.” The EU’s 27 member states are currently working toward an agreement on a bloc-wide social media age threshold, which has the support of the European Commission.

For observers, December 10 in Australia and its immediate aftermath will be valuable learning moments. Will Australia’s kids revolt, demanding their Insta just as another generation demanded its MTV? Or will they go outside, spot a koala and wonder why they ever cared so much about TikTok dances? Should everyone just calm the farm, no wukkas? The regulatory world awaits answers – though clarity remains elusive.

Article Topics

age inference  |  age verification  |  Australia  |  Australia age verification  |  biometric age estimation  |  children  |  Denmark  |  EU age verification  |  facial age estimation (FAE)  |  France  |  social media  |  VerifyMy