UK social media if they do not have a passport or driving licence when an under-16 ban is introduced next year.
Ofcom, the UK’s online watchdog, said about 150,000 16- to 17-year-olds do not own a passport or driving licence, which are likely to be needed to access age-restricted platforms.
The Australia-style ban on under-16s accessing More than nine out of 10 Britons over 16 have passports or driving licences. Facial age estimation has been a popular measure for enforcing over-18 access to pornographic websites in the UK, which have been subject to stringent age checks since last year, indicating that this method will be used by social media
Ofcom’s chief executive acknowledged the risk of evasion and said the ban would be a “huge cultural shift for the UK”.
“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,” said Dawes. “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, with Ofcom also opening a consultation on the best age verification methods before issuing official guidance on which measures to adopt.
