Instagram is testing a new AI system to enhance user experience. This new system helps ensure that children are providing truthful ages and profiles on our platform. Social media companies are facing growing pressure to adopt age verification standards. This movement paves the way for increased efforts making children’s online experience safer. Meta, Instagram’s parent company, has argued that app store owners such as Apple and Google should be held accountable for age verification. They think that the burden shouldn’t be on individual platforms.
Over 20 states in the United States have already passed bills mandating age verification. The good news is that most of these laws are right now being challenged in court. Here’s the thing—it’s not just the U.S. Australia has recently passed a restriction barring anyone under the age of 16 from being able to access social media. At the same time, the United Kingdom has implemented age verification for all users of sites with pornography.
In the U.S., Louisiana and Texas have introduced laws requiring websites with more than 33% adult content to verify users’ ages or risk facing fines. Similarly, the popular gaming platform Roblox has implemented age verification for teenagers wishing to access features that allow more freedom in chatting. Now, users who wish to access games rated for mature audiences (17+) or higher are required to provide a photo ID. Further, they have to go through a face scan as a form of identity verification.
Reddit, X (formerly Twitter), Telegram, and Bluesky have all pledged to introduce age verification. This action underscores the left’s increasing clout beyond just one platform. Mississippi’s theocratic model of age verification has alarmed user privacy advocates. This past week’s MSSA legislation would drastically change how users access Bluesky. Just last month, the Supreme Court cleared the way for a Mississippi law imposing age checks on social media to go into effect. This decision adds a new layer of complexity to the constantly evolving standpoint of digital age verification.
In June the Supreme Court refused an attempt by pornographers to block enforcement of a Texas law designed to prevent minors from accessing pornography online. Taken together these recent legal decisions reflect a profound change in attitudes toward age verification’s viability and acceptability across all platforms.
Jason Kelley, a policy analyst for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, has expressed alarm at the possible ramifications of measures like these.
“In places like Australia and the U.K., there is already a split happening between the internet that people who are willing to identify themselves or go through age verification can see and the rest of the internet. And that’s historically a very dangerous place for us to end up,” – Jason Kelley.
Opponents of age verification mandates highlight risks these pose to adults’ privacy and free speech rights. Jennifer Huddleston noted that certain demographic groups might experience greater challenges with accuracy when it comes to age verification technologies.
“Sometimes it’s less accurate for women or it’s less accurate for certain racial or ethnic groups or for certain physical characteristics that then may mean that those people have to go through additional privacy invasive screenings to prove that they are of a certain age,” – Jennifer Huddleston.
Advocates contend that social media companies are socially obligated to protect children first and foremost on the internet. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese emphasized the importance of this responsibility.
“Platforms now have a social responsibility to ensure the safety of our kids is a priority for them,” – Anthony Albanese.
The age verification fight is far from over as other jurisdictions consider similar legislation. In France and several other European Union countries, governments are testing government-sponsored verification apps designed to enforce age restrictions online.
Critics of the proposals counter that in its current form, the proposals would fail to address the concerns associated with age verification. Recently, Google specifically said they were concerned about a lack of vagueness in proposed legislation.
“Billed as ‘simple’ by its backers, including Meta, this proposal fails to cover desktop computers or other devices that are commonly shared within families. It also could be ineffective against pre-installed apps,” – Google.
Bluesky too has sounded the alarm on the likely impact of Mississippi’s age verification law.
“We think this law creates challenges that go beyond its child safety goals, and creates significant barriers that limit free speech and disproportionately harm smaller platforms,” – Bluesky.
Social media companies are trying to protect minors while protecting user privacy and user freedom. This difficulty continues to the present day, producing the general controversy surrounding age verification. In the climate of the current regulatory landscape, there’s considerable momentum for tighter restrictions on protecting children online. Yet, this puts children and everyone else in a vastly more dangerous position regarding free speech and privacy rights.
