Social media age checks effective but not foolproof, Ofcom warns
Age checks could “significantly” enforce plans to ban under-16s from social media, but some children will find ways around the measures, Ofcom has warned.
The regulator published an assessment on Thursday on how social media firms could reliably restrict access to adult or harmful content or addictive apps.
Ofcom identified four methods that could be “highly effective” at checking whether users are 16 or older: banking checks, photo ID, digital ID and facial age estimation technology.
But the regulator said the risk of circumvention cannot be eliminated.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham plans to press ahead with the age-based social media ban announced by Sir Keir Starmer towards the end of his premiership.
The Government is expected to introduce regulations confirming the ban by the end of the year, with plans for the rules to come into effect in 2027.
A similar ban was introduced in Australia last year.
Ofcom said it was “inevitable” some under-16s would get around the checks but added social media firms could reduce the risk by making it easier to report suspected underage accounts or by using technology that estimates a user’s age from their online behaviour.
The regulator also warned that some facial recognition technology could be inaccurate by several years, meaning some users would need to undergo a second check.
About 150,000 16 and 17-year-olds are estimated to have neither a licence nor a passport, limiting options to prove their age.
Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes said: “This ban will shape the future of children’s lives online so it’s important to get it right.
“It can work if social media firms do highly effective age checks properly, and we’ve set out ways that could be achieved.
She added: “We should expect that motivated children will seek to bypass the restrictions – just like alcohol laws can’t completely eradicate underage drinking – but there’ll be ways for platforms to mitigate this risk.”
The regulator said it was developing draft guidance for social media firms that would open for consultation when the Government’s plans come before Parliament.
Andy Burrows, chief executive of the Molly Rose Foundation, set up in memory of 14-year-old Molly Russell, who took her own life in 2017 after viewing harmful content online, said the guidance was welcome but he had little confidence the ban could be delivered successfully.
He said: “Just last week the regulator admitted it had failed to reduce children’s exposure to any measure of harmful content.
“If the ban is to be enforced by the same failing regulator and with the same insufficient powers, we should expect the same dismal results we’ve seen in Australia.
“That means a ban that is widely flouted by the tech firms, offers confusion not simplicity to families and that presents a real risk of unintended safeguarding consequences.”
Published: by Radio NewsHub