<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australian authorities said on Tuesday that </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/social-media" rel="" target="" title=""><span>social media platforms</span></a><span> should not demand age verification for all account holders starting from December, when a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/online-age-verification-possible-but-no-onesizefitsall-solution/61db4955-eda5-4f99-9970-76f141881873" rel="" target="" title=""><span>ban on children under 16</span></a><span> having accounts goes into effect in the country.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The government released guidelines on how platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram should apply the world's first ban on children using social media from December 10. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It says verifying the ages of all account holders would be unreasonable.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/haighs-chocolates-new-factory/02620aa8-0ef5-43de-8e6c-9f9892b8a8e9"><strong><span>Iconic Australian chocolate-maker opens new $120 million factory</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We think it would be unreasonable if platforms reverified everyone's age," said Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, who drafted the guidelines. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Her use of the word "reverified" suggested the platforms usually already had sufficient data to verify a user was older than 16.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said the platforms have "targeting technology" to focus on those under 16.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/australia-warns-social-media-platforms-against-age-verification-for-all-ahead-of-a-ban-on-children/a8e0edd8-f3a5-4d30-964b-59ae0472cb5a" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They can target us with deadly precision when it comes to advertising. Certainly they can do this around the age of a child," she added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australia's Parliament enacted the ban last year, giving the platforms a year to work out its implementation. The platforms face fines of up to $50 million for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Critics of the legislation fear that banning young children from social media will impact the privacy of all users who must establish they are older than 16.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/dog-hailed-a-hero-after-scaring-off-intruders-from-melbourne-home/3e167478-8021-4a3c-9cf4-16b6ce613926"><strong><span>Dog hailed a hero after scaring off intruders from Melbourne home</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Inman Grant said claims the ban would see every Australian account holder subjected to age verification as a "scare tactic."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Communications Minister Anika Wells said the government seeks to keep platform users' data as private as possible.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"These social media platforms know an awful lot about us" already, Wells said. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If you have been on, for example, Facebook since 2009, then they know you are over 16. There is no need to verify."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Wells and Inman Grant will travel to the United States next week to discuss the guidelines with the platforms' owners.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Inman Grant said the platforms would need to demonstrate to her agency that they were taking "reasonable steps" to exclude children younger than 16.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We don't expect that every under-16 account is magically going to disappear on December 10," Inman Grant said. </span></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2025/01/14/12/15/deleting-apps-the-social-media-apps-australians-want-to-delete-the-most-in-photos"><img alt="Apps Australians want to delete 16:9 image" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/aaSdHndquesBHO8JlLfkKtmkdQA=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Feadb8a25-b238-419e-97c2-348f38d805aa" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/aaSdHndquesBHO8JlLfkKtmkdQA=/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Feadb8a25-b238-419e-97c2-348f38d805aa 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/-Owcbng0SaVJX_aqfZWHwDs19KI=/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Feadb8a25-b238-419e-97c2-348f38d805aa 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">The top 10 apps Australians want to delete the most</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2025/01/14/12/15/deleting-apps-the-social-media-apps-australians-want-to-delete-the-most-in-photos">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"What we will be looking at is systemic failures to apply the technologies, policies and processes."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Melbourne's RMIT University expert on information sciences Lisa Given told Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the government's approach acknowledges that age verification technologies make errors.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It's going to be up to each of the platforms to determine how they're going to comply and it will be interesting to see if they test the limits of the definition of 'reasonable steps,'" Given said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><strong><span>Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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