According to a company spokesman, Snapchat has begun asking Australian children and teenagers to verify their ages, including using software owned by the country’s banks.
The action on Monday comes as Australia prepares to implement a first-ever social media ban on children under the age of 16 starting on December 10.
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One of the toughest laws aimed at Big Tech is the law, which threatens social media platforms with fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($31.95 million) for breaking it.
The ban also applies to YouTube, X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Twitch, and Kick as well.
Snapchat said users can verify their age using software from age-assurance provider k-ID, a company with a presence in Singapore, or through the ConnectID app, which links to their bank accounts, in a statement on Saturday.
Most of the major Australian banks are connected to ConnectID, which said it would notify the tech platform based on account details whether a person was over 16 without requiring them to provide sensitive information.
According to ConnectID managing director Andrew Black, the goal is to prevent young people from accessing the internet without introducing new privacy risks.
Users can upload government-issued identification cards to verify their ages or upload photos for the application to use to calculate the age range.
Keep communication channels open.
Snapchat has stated that it believes that 440, 000 of its Australian users are between 13 and 15 years old.
Snapchat, claiming its service provides a “visual messaging app,” “strongly disagreed” with the Australian government’s recommendation that it be included in the social media ban.
Teenagers may become less safe and less private messaging apps as a result of disconnecting from their friends and family, according to the warning.
Discord, WhatsApp, Lego Play, and Pinterest are just a few examples of the apps that have escaped the ban. However, Australian authorities have the discretion to make necessary updates to the list of prohibited platforms.
Leo Puglisi, the founder of youth news service 6 News Australia, is one of the young people and advocates who has voiced concern about the potential effects of the new ban. Puglisi, 18, is a journalist and founder of the Australian Senate inquiry who claimed the ban will have an impact on young people’s access to information.
UNICEF Australia has also expressed concern about the implementation, claiming that the changes the Australian government has suggested won’t solve the issues that young people face online.
According to a statement from UNICEF Australia, “Social media has a lot of positive things, like staying connected with friends and education.”
“We believe that listening to young people and making social media platforms safer are more important than making any changes actually help,” said the organization.
Parents should start talking to children as soon as possible about how to stay connected as the ban goes into effect in the upcoming weeks, according to Katrina Lines, CEO of children’s therapy provider Act for Kids.
Lines argued that it is crucial to maintain communication channels throughout the process and even after these changes become effective.
Act for Kids polled more than 300 Australian children between the ages of 10 and 16 and found that 41% would prefer to spend time with their families in person, compared to only 15% who preferred to spend time online. However, Lines claimed that families must still determine ways to enhance in-person relationships.
Asking them how they would like to stay connected to friends and family outside of social media might be a good way to start the conversation, she said.
global concern
The Australian ban comes as a result of growing global concern about the health and safety of children. Businesses like TikTok, Snapchat, Google, and Meta Platforms, the owners of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, are facing lawsuits in the US for their roles in bringing about a mental health crisis.
Regulators around the world are closely monitoring the effectiveness of Australia’s extensive restrictions.
The Malaysian government plans to outlaw social media for users under the age of 16 starting in 2019, according to Malaysia’s communications minister Fahmi Fadzil, who made the announcement on Sunday.
He claimed that the government was looking into the mechanisms in place to place age restrictions on social media use and that they were urged to do so in order to protect young people from online threats like cyberbullying, financial scams, and child sexual abuse.
According to a video of his remarks posted online by the local newspaper The Star, “We hope that social media platforms will follow the government’s decision to ban users under the age of 16 from opening user accounts by next year.”
While Indonesia has stated it is preparing legislation to protect young people from “physical, mental, or moral perils,” Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in New Zealand plans to introduce a bill to restrict children’s use of social media.
