SYDNEY: Australia urged social media platforms on Tuesday to employ &quot;minimally invasive&quot; methods to check the age of users covered by its world-first teen social media ban, which takes into account artificial intelligence (AI) and behavioral data.&nbsp;Governments and tech firms worldwide are closely monitoring Australia&#39;s efforts to become the first country to ban the use of social media by those under 16, starting from December.&nbsp;&quot;eSafety recommends the most minimally invasive techniques available,&quot; the internet watchdog said in its guidance for firms to comply with the law passed in November.&nbsp;Social media platforms are not required to conduct blanket age verification, as firms can use existing data to infer age reliably, according to the eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant.&nbsp;&quot;We know that they have the targeting technology to do this,&quot; she told a media briefing.&nbsp;&quot;They can target us with deadly precision when it comes to advertising; certainly, they can do this around the age of a child.&quot;&nbsp;She added, &quot;Adults should not see huge changes ... it would be unreasonable if platforms re-verify everyone&#39;s age.&quot;&nbsp;In July, Grant widened the ban to Alphabet-owned GOOGL.O YouTube, following complaints by Meta&#39;s META.O Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat SNAP.N and TikTok about an earlier decision to exempt the video-sharing site popular with teachers.&nbsp;Google and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.&nbsp;In February, eSafety said 95% of teenagers aged 13 to 15 reported using at least one social media platform since January 2024 but warned that the actual numbers could be much higher.&nbsp;Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells urged &quot;reasonable steps&quot; by social media companies to detect and deactivate underage accounts, to prevent re-registration and provide an accessible complaints process for their users.&nbsp;&quot;We cannot control the ocean, but we can police the sharks, and today we are making clear to the rest of the world how we intend to do this,&quot; Wells told reporters.&nbsp;There was no excuse for non-compliance, she added, as the platforms could do so, ranking among the world&#39;s biggest and best-resourced companies.&nbsp;Amid concern about the impact on young people&#39;s mental health, Australia&#39;s ban passed into law in November 2024, with companies given a year to adopt it, while facing a December 10 deadline to deactivate the accounts of underage users.

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Australasia

Australia eSafety Commissioner says social media platforms are not required to conduct blanket age verification, as firms can use existing data to infer age reliably.

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Australia wants 'minimally invasive' age checks under teen social media ban