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   Australia's social media ban will come into force next week   
      
   Date:   
   Tue, 02 Dec 2025 17:50:40 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   Australia's social media ban will come into effect on Wednesday, November 10.   
   Privacy and security experts remain skeptical about its impact, while others   
   praise its role in protecting kids online.   
      
   FULL STORY   
      
   Australia's landmark social media ban will be rolled out next week. Starting   
   on December 10, popular social media platforms -- including Instagram,   
   Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube -- will be required to take "reasonable steps" to   
   prevent people under the age of 16 from using their services. If they fail to   
   do so, they could face fines of up to $49.5 million AUD (approximately $32   
   million USD).    
      
   Communications Minister Anika Wells said the legislation follows a "moral   
   imperative" to protect kids online. "We stand firm on the side of parents and   
   not on the platforms," Wells told the BBC .    
      
   However, the privacy risks of mandatory age checks are causing alarm among   
   experts. "Age verification systems are surveillance systems that threaten   
   everyones privacy and anonymity. But Australias government recently decided    
   to ignore these dangers," the US-based civil society organization EFF has   
   argued .   
      
   How will the social media ban work?   
      
   Details about the specific age verification methods that will be used are   
   still emerging. However, it appears some are trying to get ahead of the   
   problem and introduce measures early.    
      
   Meta announced it's going to start deactivating existing accounts this week .   
   It said it would notify impacted accounts to "give them an opportunity to    
   save their contacts and memories" before the deadline.    
      
   The company has argued that using app-store level verification methods would   
   have been more effective than platform-specific measures. While an initial   
   investigation by The Guardian indicates its video selfie platform is working   
   successfully for some, results from the Australian Governments Age Assurance   
   Technology Trial suggest that facial age estimation systems may be less   
   effective for Indigenous Australians and those closer to the age of 16.    
      
    TikTok and Snap have said that they would use behavior-tracking technologies   
   to predict the age of a user. "Where we identify someone that is saying   
   they're 25, but the behaviors would indicate that they're below the age of    
   16, from December 10th we will have those accounts deactivated," TikTok's   
   public policy lead for Australia, Ella Woods-Joyce, told Reuters .    
      
    Snapchat has since started implementing age verification checks ahead of the   
   December 10 introduction date. To verify user's age, the platform offers two   
   options: ConnectID, which validates identity via existing banking data, or   
   k-ID, which uses government identification and facial scanning technology.    
      
   During the initial two-year review, the methods used may change. "This isn't    
   a cure, it's a treatment plan, and treatment plans will always evolve as we   
   can adapt and address harm and see what works and what doesn't," Wells told   
   the BBC.   
      
   Privacy implications of age verification    
      
   With each social media platform adopting different tools to verify users'   
   ages, it's hard to assess the overall impact on people's privacy. While it's   
   likely some tools will be more privacy-preserving than others, almost all   
   involve the collection and analysis of sensitive data, ranging from official   
   documents to biometric analysis or behavior analysis.    
      
   Cyber safety expert Stacey Edmonds has warned that collecting this data en   
   masse could lead to an increase in scams. "What's the number one thing   
   scammers and predators want from us?" Our data and personal details  and    
   we're giving them out," Edmonds told ABC .    
      
   Dr Catherine Page Jeffery, a lecturer in Media and Communications at the   
   University of Sydney, echoed these concerns in a statement: "Young people and   
   parents doubt it will work and worry about privacy and data security.   
      
   Workarounds could put children's security at risk    
      
   As with similar restrictions seen in the UK and several US states  most   
   recently Missouri  there's also likely to be an increase in demand for VPNs   
   across Australia in the coming week. However, this rush to bypass    
   restrictions could lead users into dangerous territory.    
      
   "A lot of people will search for a free VPN and that will download a host of   
   other spam software onto your computer or your phone, creating further risks   
   for data breach," Daswin De Silva, Professor of AI and analytics at La Trobe   
   University, told ABC News.    
      
   Given the risks associated with using many free VPNs , it's important to use    
   a reputable brand. Here at TechRadar, we recommend NordVPN and Surfshark as   
   the best VPN available.    
      
   "It's going to look a bit untidy on the way through," Minister Wells said .   
   "Big reforms always do." However, the internet is particularly messy, and   
   interfering with one element almost always causes unintended consequences   
   elsewhere.   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-services/australias-social-media-ban-will-co   
   me-into-force-next-week   
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