Everyone Over 16 May Need ID to Use Social Media, Ofcom Says

Social media users may be required to have photo ID to prove their age when Labour’s ban for under-16s comes into force in spring as current facial age checks are inadequate, Ofcom has said. The Telegraph has the story.

The regulator said current facial age checks used by social media platforms were not accurate enough to confirm whether a child was over 16.

It said this would mean that Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and others would need to implement other checks, such as requiring a photo ID.

Ofcom acknowledged that children aged 16 or 17 who “do not yet have a photo ID would likely need to take steps to obtain one”.

The proposal is set out in the regulator’s assessment of four methods it says could be used to enforce the UK’s under-16s ban. They are facial age estimation, passports, digital IDs and bank checks.

Child safety campaigners welcomed the tougher approach if it could be shown to work, but privacy groups warned it amounted to the backdoor introduction of national ID cards.

It comes after up to 60% of under-16s in Australia avoided age checks to stay on social media after that country’s ban....<<<Read More>>>...