Ofcom: 100,000+ UK teens may be locked out of social media without ID
About 150,000 Britons aged 16 and 17 have no passport or driving licence, documents likely to be needed once the under-16 ban begins next spring.
At a glance
- Ofcom says about 150,000 Britons aged 16 and 17 have no passport or driving licence, documents likely needed to prove age online.
- The under-16 social media ban, modelled on Australia's law, is due to come into force next spring.
- Ofcom named four 'highly effective' age checks but said official photo ID would probably be needed as a backstop.
More than 100,000 British teenagers risk losing access to social media when the UK's under-16 ban takes effect next spring, because they hold no passport or driving licence to prove their age.
Ofcom, the UK's online regulator, said about 150,000 people aged 16 and 17 own neither document, and that official photo ID is likely to be required for age-restricted platforms. The ban, modelled on Australia's law, will bar under-16s from services such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
Four methods Ofcom calls 'highly effective'
On Thursday Ofcom published an assessment of the age verification measures that could underpin the ban. It set out four methods it described as "highly effective": checking a person's official ID against a live selfie, a bank verifying an account holder's age, an official digital ID service such as the Young Scot card, or estimating someone's age from a selfie.
The regulator said a form of official ID would probably still be needed as a "backstop" for other approaches, including facial age estimation, which can be inaccurate by several years. "This means that people without a form of photo ID will likely need to take steps to obtain one to access age-restricted services," Ofcom said.
More than nine in 10 Britons over 16 have a passport or driving licence, the regulator noted.
Facial age estimation has been widely used to enforce over-18 access to pornographic websites in the UK, which have faced stringent age checks since last year, suggesting platforms will adopt the same tool.
Australia as the test case
The UK government has not confirmed which platforms will be covered, but the ban is expected to apply to the same sites as in Australia: Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X and YouTube.
In March, Australia's eSafety commissioner said a "substantial proportion" of under-16s had flouted the ban since it was imposed in December. A survey of 900 Australian parents found 31% said their children still had one or more social media accounts after the ban, compared with 49% before the laws.
Ofcom's chief executive, Melanie Dawes, acknowledged the risk of evasion and said "motivated children" would seek to bypass the restrictions. "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," she said. "This will be a huge cultural shift for our society, so it'll take time to adjust, and everyone will have a part to play."
The government is expected to introduce regulations confirming the ban by the end of the year, while Ofcom has opened a consultation on the best age verification methods before issuing official guidance on which measures to adopt.
Source: The Guardian.
Questions and answers
- When does the UK under-16 social media ban start?
- Ofcom says the Australia-style ban on under-16s using services such as Instagram, TikTok and YouTube is due to come into force next spring. The government is expected to introduce regulations confirming the ban by the end of the year.
- How will age verification work under the UK ban?
- Ofcom outlined four methods it called 'highly effective': matching official ID to a live selfie, a bank confirming an account holder's age, an official digital ID such as the Young Scot card, or facial age estimation from a selfie. It said photo ID would probably be needed as a backstop.
- Did Australia's under-16 social media ban work?
- Australia's eSafety commissioner said in March that a 'substantial proportion' of under-16s had flouted the ban since it was imposed in December. A survey of 900 parents found 31% said their children still had social media accounts, down from 49% before.
