A trial of age verification technology will not deliver its findings to the federal government until six months after proposed legislation banning social media for under-16s is introduced to Parliament.
The Communications department revealed the expected wait for the results while announcing a consortium of “industry experts” led by Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS) as the winning bidder for the trial on Friday.
ACCS is an accredited age assurance technology testing not-for-profit based in the United Kingdom, and has previously conducted similar sandbox trials focused on retail and hospitality in 2021.
“As world leaders in their field and with the help of industry experts, ACCS is well placed to lead the trial, which will inform next steps for this vital work,” the department’s Online Safety Branch assistant secretary Andrew Irwin said.
The trial, which was announced ahead of the federal Budget, will extend to social media, as well as pornography and other online age-restricted services, which could be covered by a new set of online safety codes as early as next year.
The tests will consider a range of technologies, including biometric age estimation, email verification processes, and device or operating-level interventions for social media, according to tender documents released in September.
For age-restricted online content, the Communications department has explicitly asked that double-blind tokenised attribution exchange models and hard identifiers such as credit cards be considered.
With the tender awarded, the department said the trial would commence “immediately”, with the results to be provided in a comprehensive final report to government by mid-next year.
The department said the public will be invited to participate in the testing of the different age verification solutions under consideration, suggesting that the trial is yet to formally get underway.
A spokesperson for the department would not provide a start date when contacted by InnovationAus.com. It is also not clear if interim reports will be provided to government.
Last week, the federal government announced plans to ban social media for children under the age of 16, with legislation expected to be introduced to Parliament before the end of November.
The minimum age requirements, which have since been accepted by all state and territory governments, are not expected to come into force until 12 months after passage of the legislation.
Common social media platforms like Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, TikTok and Elon Musk’s X are in scope of the age restrictions. Google’s YouTube has also been flagged for inclusion.
The industry group representing Meta, Apple, Twitter and Google has labelled the ban a “20th Century response to 21st Century challenges”, while other civil society groups have called for a more all-encompassing approach.
The controversial ban on children under 16 years old accessing social media could arrive alongside a proposed duty of care, announced by Communications minister Michelle Rowland on Wednesday.
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