Australia Pushes for 'Minimally Invasive' AI to Enforce Under-16 Social Media Ban

SYDNEY – Australia has today urged social media platforms to adopt "minimally invasive" and data-driven methods, including artificial intelligence, to verify the age of users ahead of its world-first ban on access for under-16s, which takes effect this December. The guidance, issued by the country's internet safety watchdog, is intended to provide tech companies with clear instructions on how to comply with the landmark legislation without resorting to intrusive, blanket age-verification measures.

The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, which became law last November, is being closely watched by governments and technology firms globally amid growing concerns about the impact of social media on the mental health of young people. The eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, stated that platforms are not expected to re-verify the age of all users. Instead, she suggested companies could leverage their existing data and AI-powered tools to infer ages with "deadly precision."

"We know that they have the targeting technology to do this," Commissioner Grant told a media briefing. "They can target us with deadly precision when it comes to advertising; they can certainly do this around the age of a child." She stressed that adults should not see major changes to their online experience and that it would be "unreasonable" to force mass re-verification.

The new regulations, which impose fines of up to A$50 million for non-compliance, set a 10 December deadline for companies to deactivate underage accounts. Federal Communications Minister Anika Wells echoed the call for "reasonable steps" by platforms to detect and deactivate accounts, prevent re-registration, and establish accessible complaint processes.

In a move that highlighted the evolving nature of the ban, Commissioner Inman Grant’s office successfully petitioned for the ban to be extended to Alphabet-owned YouTube in July 2025. This followed complaints from other social media giants, including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, about the video-sharing site’s earlier exemption.

The push for effective enforcement comes after a February eSafety report revealed that 95 per cent of teenagers aged 13 to 15 had used at least one social media platform since January 2024. As Minister Wells put it, "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."