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Australians will not have to present a Digital ID or other form of government ID to use social media under new laws setting the minimum age of social media access to 16.

The Labor Government’s world-first legislation will require all Australians to prove that they are over the age of 16 to create social media accounts, leading to fears that the bill is a Trojan horse for government Digital ID – a valid concern for those who prefer to avoid a Black Mirror social credit style future.

Exactly how platforms must assure the age of Australian users is yet to be determined by the eSafety Commissioner, who will decide what “reasonable steps” social media platforms should take to stop Australians under 16 from creating accounts before the laws are introduced 12 months from now.

Senator Matt Canavan drilled down on this during the Senate hearing into the bill, in which officials from the Department of Infrastructure, under which the Communications portfolio and eSafety sit, confirmed that there was “nothing in the law” as originally drafted that would prevent the eSafety Commissioner from directing platforms to require Digital ID for age assurance.

However, an amendment made to the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 before it was passed in the Senate, late on Thursday night, may allay fears for now.

As recommended by both the Senate review committee and the Coalition, the addition of Section 63DB prohibits platforms and third-party providers from forcing Australian users to present a Digital ID or other form of government ID to verify their age.

Platforms and third-party age assurance services can take government ID for age verification, but only if other methods of age assurance are offered to the user. Platforms found in breach of these terms can be fined up to $50 million (USD $33 million).

Govt officials admit that “there is nothing in the law” that would stop the eSafety Commissioner saying that Digital ID should be used to verify someone’s age.

Remember, the social media ban applies to children under 16 but to enforce it EVERYONE will need to verify their age. pic.twitter.com/5gVBM2RlVv

— Senator Matt Canavan (@mattjcan) November 25, 2024

Prohibition

However, an amendment made to the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 before it was passed in the Senate, late on Thursday night, may allay fears for now.

As recommended by both the Senate review committee and the Coalition, the addition of Section 63DB prohibits platforms and third-party providers from forcing Australian users to present a Digital ID or other form of government ID to verify their age.

Platforms and third-party age assurance services can take government ID for age verification, but only if other methods of age assurance are offered to the user. Platforms found in breach of these terms can be fined up to $50 million (USD $33 million).

Section 63DB was added to the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 to prohibit government ID, including Digital ID, from being the only method of age verification offered to Australians to access social media. Source: Supplementary Explanatory Memorandum.

Even with the amendment in place, though, it may be the case that some Australians will need to present a government ID (which could include a Digital ID) to use social media.

In Crikey last week, Cam Wilson explained platforms’ ‘waterfall’ approach to age assurance, in which platforms make graduated requests for various forms of ID from users depending on their algorithmic profile (which may offer clues that even though they say they’re 24, they’re more likely 12).

“While it’s true all Australians won’t have to put in their government ID, this law all but guarantees that more Australians will be forced to either provide government ID or have their face scanned if they want to stay online — something that many Australians will object to,” wrote Wilson.

Given the extremely rushed process of progressing this bill – allowing only two business days for Senate review, and cutting off debate time to ram it through the Senate in the last session of the year – the government ID amendment has not been properly reviewed, so how robust it is remains to be seen.

Legislation to expand Australia’s Digital ID framework was passed earlier this year, and while politicians have assured that Digital ID will not be made mandatory, loopholes in the legislation allow for exemptions to this promise.

Coupled with the government’s double-speak on the “voluntary” scheme of mandated Covid vaccination, doubts remain about just how voluntary Digital ID will be down the track.

The government’s age assurance technology trial, awarded to a consortium headed by the Age Check Certification Scheme, is now underway and is expected to report to Parliament next year.

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Republished with thanks to Dystopian Down Under. Image courtesy of Adobe.