Social media age verification is possible, but no single solution exists

A landmark national study into social media age-gating technology has revealed that age assurance can be done, but warns there is no single solution that will work across all platforms.

The Age Assurance Technology Trial was commissioned by the Australian Government to investigate whether age verification can be technically implemented by social media platforms without compromising the privacy and security of Australian citizens. It comes in the lead up to a blanket social media ban for under 16s, which will come into effect in December.

The report lands after a week in which digital platforms — anxious to sink or stall the under-16s ban — received some hope in the form a Senate Inquiry into the privacy implications of the new legislation.