Reddit users’ questions expose major shortcoming in age assurance effort

 “Am I the only one that’s confused about how they’re going to confirm if you’re a certain age?” So asks a Reddit user, in response to the company’s notice regarding the age assurance requirements that come into effect for Australian users today, under the country’s online safety codes and attendant “social media ban for under-16s.”

Apparently the answer to the above question is, no – a worrying sign for the short-term success of Australia’s groundbreaking law.

Reddit says it’s just trying to play by the rules: “While we disagree with the government’s assessment of Reddit as being within the scope of the law, we need to take steps to comply.” In its list of changes, it specifies that “we care deeply about the safety of our users, including any minors, and while some of these changes are required by law, others represent global measures we’re voluntarily taking to improve safety and privacy for those under 18.”

Persona, the biometrics firm that handles age assurance for Reddit, also has an explainer on how age verification for Reddit works in Australia. One important note says that “Persona deletes all of your personal information including any images within 3 days. After 3 days your data will be automatically deleted.” It also says it only ever uses the data to provide proof of age, and won’t feed it into any AI databases for training.

Reddit announced its partnership with Persona in July 2025, months ahead of the December 10 deadline for social media platforms in Australia.

Nonetheless, many of the top comments on its post about age verification express some variant of perplexity at what, exactly, is happening, and how it will work.

“Most are confused on how it’s going to be implemented and it comes out tomorrow,” says one.

“That’s because there’s been f*%# all details released for the public to prepare,” says a reply.

The thread is a revealing glimpse into the gap between the Australian government’s legislative efforts to push through the law, and the message that is reaching the public. Much of the criticism of age assurance has alleged privacy risks or accuracy; not enough has focused on how the government and its collaborators package the technology, and how it is served to the public in general.

Article Topics

Australia  |  Australia age verification  |  biometric age estimation  |  biometrics  |  Persona  |  Reddit  |  social media