How are they going to enforce age limits on social media?

[cakeorwine]

Children lie about their age.
So they need to verify their age.

But surely that means that anyone signing up for social media would have to verify their age, because you can't just rely on someone's birth date they put in.

It will still look like they’re doing their bit though?

But surely that means that anyone signing up for social media would have to verify their age

Yes I imagine that's what it would mean.

And I think it obviously won't prevent all children under the age having it, just like no law has ever prevented 100% of whatever it was prohibiting.

One of the reason people always give for letting their children have social media is that they don't want them left out. If a chunk of parents don't allow it, it removes strength from that argument.

Could have to go thru a formal identity process, supply passport & birth certificate etc. Get interviewed & someone to vouch for you...

Short of those actions, the only remaining action is to ask and then people tell truth or lie.

Also... what is social media and what isn't? Apparently messaging Apps won't count as SM in the Aussie plan so WhatsApp groups are FINE. What about Discord, reddit, Mumsnet....

Yeah. Lip service like with many porn sites when yoi simply have to click "I am.over x age"

Quite.

What is social media?
Which apps are included?

I say my birthday is 1st Jan 1980. How do you know that's true and how do you know that any ID is actually the ID of the person whose email account the social media is linked to?

I actually can’t believe they’ve said WhatsApp is fine.
As a teacher almost every one of the cyber bullying/grooming/exploitation incidents I have had to deal with has started on a WhatsApp group.

I think the most logical thing would be to have to verify with a credit card. If they did that they could charge a small nominal amount to sign up to it, social media companies would earn even more ££££s and parents would see it on their statements if the child tried to use their card to sign up. Also someone would be held accountable for an under age child signing up.

It doesn't mean anything. I am overwhelmed and horrified by all of this SMedia hell now I have a teen. These new rules are toothless.

My child is ND so asks obsessively yet can't handle it. But every peer has it. We trialled it for 1 week; I lost my mind and it had to go. The obsessive asking still continues ( why can't I when everyone else does).

I installed TikTok to get an idea of what it's like. It's horrific; young people live streaming to the world, any one commenting, bullying. It's like having another child now managing this online crap.

Teen has access to WhatsApp for Comms with friends and family ( including me). It's a daily challenge monitoring it.

I have no doubt now that SMedia will contribute to increased mental health distress, self harm and even loss of life now I have seen what this is like for kids accessing it.

For communication I think the in but phone messaging app is enough.
The whole problem with WhatsApp is people add someone they know to a group, that person adds someone etc and before you know it a child is in a group with complete strangers but you think it’s safe because it’s just WhatsApp

Youtube is not included either, apparently, in Aussie ban.
Coz nothing bad ever happened on there.
Yet TikTok is a problem platform, it would seem.

I wonder where Rumble and B i t ch ute fall.

Guardian quote:
"The bill also does not specify to which companies the legislation would apply, though communications minister Michelle Rowland has said that Snapchat, TikTok, X, Instagram, Reddit and Facebook are likely to be part of the ban. YouTube will not be included because of its “significant” educational purpose, she said."

@ZippyLilacStork I agree, the worst I've seen is via WhatsApp - it's because one day I can see who is on there and the next day another group has popped up and you're then deleting each one.

We have been forced to take the phone away and allow access on sporadic moments.

I really believe alot of good parents just don't realise what's going on here. You need to treat it like a full time job. I wish so much something would change at a wider social level because you're so up against it as a teen out the loop.

Hopefully the logistics of this will mean social media becomes untenable. Many if the Meta products are already heading towards obsolescence this may be the final nail for them.

Telegram is likely for the ban but presumably Zoom, GoogleMeet (or Googlle meetups?) & Teams are not likely to be banned.

Slack? Signal?

I can set up group text chats on my phone, using SMS. Would that be banned for < 16s ?

That would mean that social media would become the preserve of people who both wanted and qualified for a credit card, that would be a terrible thing

Maybe we dont have the perfect answer yet but who knows what will be available in the future

Wire? Threema?

If I invent a messaging service suitable for group chat and subtopics and release this brand new platform/app/service in January 2026 that allows groups & channels (like Discord) ... will that be automatically in or out of Aussie legislation ban? Who wll track all the 'new' SM apps in future? Is Google Playstore/Apple AppStore supposed to be the places that enforces these bans, by only letting age 16+ download the potential apps... ?

What about Apps that are both on phone & on websites...

I wonder if Usenet would be allowed for < 16s.

I’d expect a passport or drivers licence to be required or national id card if that country has one.

I think they need to split SMs rather than contol acceas all of it. Some parts can be a so amazing. I follow museums, local arts, etc. Museums were doimg virtual tours online during lockdowns. They post so much interesting educational stuff.

The underbelly is fucking terrible. Luckily algorithms generally work for me so I don't see shite as it is not my interest. I am glad not to be teenager now.

Split between beneficial accounts, influencers and few more would be the best imho.

On this MN thread where posters are congratulating each other for strict phone access for < 16s, many of them say their kids are allowed WhatsApp. But not TikTok, coz you know, nothing useful ever learned on there.

Hohum.

Birth certs and parental consent.

They are still working through the verification process in Australia and may well come up with some workable solutions. Personally I would fine the social media companies a very large amount every time an underage person used their services. You would see a strong system put in place immediately if the fines were high enough. Try opening an online gambling site

@anniegun: what verification procedure do you think would be cast iron foolproof?

Online gambling seems to just want a credit / debit card check. I don't know exactly what that would mean - but can you imagine having to give credit card details when you want to join a SM site.

Nominally, my kids Watts app accounts are in my name... easiest way around it all...

There is good and bad in social media. Parennts like wattsapp so they can contact their children

pfffft... most < 16 bank accounts come with debit cards now. That's not proof of age.

One way to enforce this is thru AppStore. Age restricted Apps. But kids will find new Apps to bully each other or send nasty videos. Banning SM is the same as banning people from talking to each other. It won't work.

Who trusts AppStore or indiv. random SM sites to have all your identity details & keep them safe? Passport picture, driving license, birthcertif... What if you had to provide your identity to AppStore & assert that your phone was NEVER used by anyone under age, maybe, or maybe some apps could only be opened with an adult fingerprint (like phone banking) still would need AppStore to verify your identity documents before deleting them hopefully and then your access to the restricted Apps would be only via fingerprint.

Then Appstore would 'know' when a 14yo user turned 16 and suddenly could download a bunch of Apps previously in the restricted list.

My phone fails biometric logins more than occasionally & a lot of laptops don't have a biometric way of checking identity. But there is a website way to access each of WhatsApp, Facebook, Insta...

Meanwhile, you might as well try to ban people from talking to each other.

Actually I don't see the issue with using a nominal credit card payment as proof of age. The privacy argument is a smokescreen for the messaging and social media companies - it largely facilitates kids accessing inappropriate content, dodgy adults grooming kids, and people posting hate speech/ bullying/ pro anorexia or pro suicide content.