Would you show Facebook your ID? The government wants to know

Facebook , Instagram , TikTok and Snapchat could be asked to participate in the Australian government ’s age-assurance technology trial to assess whether it would stop teenagers from accessing social media and pornography. But communications department officials told the Social Media and Australian Society inquiry on Tuesday they did not have the power to compel tech giants to participate in the trial and could only request their co-operation. Representatives also revealed the trial would assess whether Australians were willing to share identification documents with social networks to verify their age, or whether that would present too many privacy concerns.

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today The public hearing is the fourth in the social media inquiry, which was called in May to consider Meta’s decision to drop news deals, harmful and illegal content on social networks, their impact on mental health, and the use of age-assurance technology. Communications department online safety, media and platforms acting first assistant secretary Bridget Gannon told the committee the age-assurance trial was still in the design stage, but the department had appointed a working group and held preliminary discussions with social media companies including Meta. She said the department would contract an independent agency to test age-assurance technology and whether it could stop teens from accessing social networks in addition to restricting access to adult material.



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