Ofcom has recommended photo ID matching, digital ID services, banking checks and facial age estimation tech be used to verify people’s ages when a social media ban for under 16s comes into force
Adults may be blocked from using online platforms if they do not prove their age(Image: Getty Images)
Adults and young people aged over 16 will likely have to prove their age using measures such as bank or photo ID checks to be able to access social media.
Media regulator Ofcom has recommended photo ID matching, digital ID services, banking checks and facial age estimation tech be used to verify people’s ages when a social media ban for under 16s comes into force next spring.
Adults may be blocked from using online platforms if they do not prove their age, as happened when age verification measures were introduced for porn sites last year.
Some adults with existing social media accounts will not need to complete an age check if the platform already holds accurate and reliable information establishing their age.
Ofcom admitted some children will succeed in bypassing age checks but will advise platforms on how best to mitigate the risks. It also said age verification is challenging for those aged 16 and 17 – compared to over 18s – as there are less effective measures available, such as credit card checks. About 150,000 16 and 17-year-olds are estimated to have neither a licence nor a passport, limiting options to prove their age.
Research shows 61% of 12 to 15-year-olds in Australia can still access their social media accounts despite a ban coming into force last year. Poor age verification technology and a lack of enforcement have been blamed.
Ofcom hopes to learn the lessons from Australia and ensure Britain’s age verification checks are more robust. Insiders also believe a whole-society approach is needed to prepare for the social media ban. This includes planning ahead to ensure kids who may suddenly have hours extra free time have things to do.
There are also conversations about how to advise parents, amid concerns some mums and dads may help their children access social media. Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom’s Chief Executive, said: “We should expect that motivated children will seek to bypass the restrictions – just like alcohol laws can’t completely eradicate underage drinking – but there’ll be ways for platforms to mitigate this risk. This will be a huge cultural shift for our society, so it’ll take time to adjust, and everyone will have a part to play.”
Andy Burrows, Chief Executive of Molly Rose Foundation, said: “Although we welcome Ofcom’s guidance that highly effective age assurance is achievable, given the regulators dire track record in enforcing the Online Safety Act we have little confidence they can deliver a social media ban any more successfully.”
The Government said it plans to publish the details of its social media ban by the end of the year. Ofcom said it is already developing draft guidance for platforms, and will consult on this as soon as the Government’s regulations are laid in Parliament. The media regulator plans to keep to the timetable set by the Government for the ban to come into force in spring next year.
Ofcom added that ministers should consider bringing app stores under UK safety regulations as “could do more to protect children online by making greater use of highly effective age assurance”.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy last month suggested tech firms could earn an exemption to an incoming UK social media ban if they make their platforms safe for under 16s. “We’re going to do proper, comprehensive legislation so that it doesn’t just incorporate the specific apps, it incorporates the features that we believe are not safe,” Ms Nandy told a panel event at Labour conference, which was hosted by the Molly Rose Foundation (MRF).
