Subj : Australia's social media
To : All
From : Mike Powell
Date : Wed Dec 03 2025 10:11 am
Australia's social media ban will come into force next week
Date:
Tue, 02 Dec 2025 17:50:40 +0000
Description:
Australia's social media ban will come into effect on Wednesday, November 10.
Privacy and security experts remain skeptical about its impact, while others
praise its role in protecting kids online.
FULL STORY
Australia's landmark social media ban will be rolled out next week. Starting
on December 10, popular social media platforms -- including Instagram,
Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube -- will be required to take "reasonable steps" to
prevent people under the age of 16 from using their services. If they fail to
do so, they could face fines of up to $49.5 million AUD (approximately $32
million USD).
Communications Minister Anika Wells said the legislation follows a "moral
imperative" to protect kids online. "We stand firm on the side of parents and
not on the platforms," Wells told the BBC .
However, the privacy risks of mandatory age checks are causing alarm among
experts. "Age verification systems are surveillance systems that threaten
everyones privacy and anonymity. But Australias government recently decided
to ignore these dangers," the US-based civil society organization EFF has
argued .
How will the social media ban work?
Details about the specific age verification methods that will be used are
still emerging. However, it appears some are trying to get ahead of the
problem and introduce measures early.
Meta announced it's going to start deactivating existing accounts this week .
It said it would notify impacted accounts to "give them an opportunity to
save their contacts and memories" before the deadline.
The company has argued that using app-store level verification methods would
have been more effective than platform-specific measures. While an initial
investigation by The Guardian indicates its video selfie platform is working
successfully for some, results from the Australian Governments Age Assurance
Technology Trial suggest that facial age estimation systems may be less
effective for Indigenous Australians and those closer to the age of 16.
TikTok and Snap have said that they would use behavior-tracking technologies
to predict the age of a user. "Where we identify someone that is saying
they're 25, but the behaviors would indicate that they're below the age of
16, from December 10th we will have those accounts deactivated," TikTok's
public policy lead for Australia, Ella Woods-Joyce, told Reuters .
Snapchat has since started implementing age verification checks ahead of the
December 10 introduction date. To verify user's age, the platform offers two
options: ConnectID, which validates identity via existing banking data, or
k-ID, which uses government identification and facial scanning technology.
During the initial two-year review, the methods used may change. "This isn't
a cure, it's a treatment plan, and treatment plans will always evolve as we
can adapt and address harm and see what works and what doesn't," Wells told
the BBC.
Privacy implications of age verification
With each social media platform adopting different tools to verify users'
ages, it's hard to assess the overall impact on people's privacy. While it's
likely some tools will be more privacy-preserving than others, almost all
involve the collection and analysis of sensitive data, ranging from official
documents to biometric analysis or behavior analysis.
Cyber safety expert Stacey Edmonds has warned that collecting this data en
masse could lead to an increase in scams. "What's the number one thing
scammers and predators want from us?" Our data and personal details and
we're giving them out," Edmonds told ABC .
Dr Catherine Page Jeffery, a lecturer in Media and Communications at the
University of Sydney, echoed these concerns in a statement: "Young people and
parents doubt it will work and worry about privacy and data security.
Workarounds could put children's security at risk
As with similar restrictions seen in the UK and several US states most
recently Missouri there's also likely to be an increase in demand for VPNs
across Australia in the coming week. However, this rush to bypass
restrictions could lead users into dangerous territory.
"A lot of people will search for a free VPN and that will download a host of
other spam software onto your computer or your phone, creating further risks
for data breach," Daswin De Silva, Professor of AI and analytics at La Trobe
University, told ABC News.
Given the risks associated with using many free VPNs , it's important to use
a reputable brand. Here at TechRadar, we recommend NordVPN and Surfshark as
the best VPN available.
"It's going to look a bit untidy on the way through," Minister Wells said .
"Big reforms always do." However, the internet is particularly messy, and
interfering with one element almost always causes unintended consequences
elsewhere.
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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-services/australias-social-media-ban-will-co
me-into-force-next-week
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