Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Snapchat, Bluesky, WhatsApp, Discord, Pinterest, Messenger or even YouTube Kids are not affected for the moment, but other social networks will complete this first list if necessary, said the Australian government. The platforms targeted by the measure are required to deactivate existing accounts, prohibit the creation of new accounts and put an end to any attempt to circumvent the legal age limit, under penalty of fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars, or more than 28 million euros, if they do not respect the age restrictions.
The Australian authorities have not established instructions on how to verify the age of minor users. They demanded social networks take “reasonable measures” to prevent under-16s from having an account. However, one condition was set: the identity document alone is not sufficient.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, will use the system of Yoti, a British application which verifies the profile and age of Internet users from a video selfie. Yoti also for TikTok, which said it has a “tiered approach” combining “technology and moderation” to detect teen accounts as well as providing credit card authorization or ID. Same “layered approach” for Kick and for Snapchat, which will monitor “behavioral signals” – without specifying how to identify them to identify users under 16 years old. YouTube said it determines age “based on the age associated with their Google account and other signals.”
What will happen to the under-16 accounts?
With a view to applying the mandatory age threshold, social platforms have all adopted more or less the same strategy, namely asking adolescents to possibly archive their already recorded content initially, then either delete their account or suspend it. Snapchat clarified that it would deactivate and block the account until the user can prove they are over 16 years old.
December 10 will not immediately be “the day after” for Australian teenagers already using social networks targeted by the new regulations. Australia will not immediately sanction the platforms, giving them time, as well as young users, to comply with the ban which could take time. Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells spoke of a “breaking-in” period. “We will take a progressive, risk- and results-based approach to compliance and enforcement, focusing on platforms with the highest proportion of underage users,” said Online Safety Commissioner Julie Inman Gran.
An experience observed very closely in France
Meta began removing Australian minors under the age of 16 from its Instagram, Facebook and Threads platforms, a week before the official ban came into effect, after last month informing 13 to 15-year-olds that their accounts would be phased out from December 4. According to estimates, 150,000 young Facebook users, 350,000 Instagram accounts and 440,000 Snapchat users would be affected by the ban in Australia. Tech companies will have to provide regular six-monthly reports on the number of accounts they hold belonging to users under 16.
While Australia takes the plunge by becoming the first country in the world to outright ban social networks for those under 16, the experience is being observed very closely in Paris. While touring the territories to consult the French, President Emmanuel Macron put forward the idea of a ban from 15 years old. The idea has met with a rather positive reception on the ground and the Head of State has made it, in recent weeks, a real media battlehorse.
