JAKARTA - The implementation of a social media ban for users under the age of 16 in Australia has begun to reap sharp criticism. A number of technology providers assess that the main problem is not in the limitations of age verification technology, but rather the weak implementation by the digital platform itself.
The statement was made by the industry association, the Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA), amid increasing regulatory pressure on global technology giants. AVPA Executive Director, Iain Corby, emphasized that the actual technological capabilities are adequate.
"The problem is not in the ability, but in the implementation," Corby said in his official statement.
Since it was enacted in December 2025, this policy is the first in the world to explicitly prohibit teenagers under the age of 16 from accessing social media. However, its implementation still faces various gaps.
The main regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, is now investigating a number of major platforms, including Meta Platforms (Facebook and Instagram), Google (YouTube), TikTok, and Snap, for alleged violations of the rules.
The Australian government has even opened the possibility of taking the case to federal court if compliance does not increase. Each violation can potentially be fined up to 49.5 million Australian dollars.
The AVPA report shows that age verification technology has actually been able to work accurately on a large scale. However, the platform is judged to be inconsistent in implementing it, especially at crucial stages such as account registration.
Other gaps found include verification practices that can be repeated many times to pass, as well as reliance on age data filled in by users themselves - a method that is vulnerable to abuse.
The regulator also noted that there are still many platforms that rely on internal age inference models, namely systems that guess the age of users based on digital activity. This approach is considered less accurate and has a high risk of opening access for underage users.
Even though millions of accounts that are suspected to belong to users under the age of have been deleted since the rules came into effect, the gap in the supervision system is still clearly visible. The lack of re-verification of old accounts is one of the weak points that continue to be exploited.
This situation puts technology companies under double pressure: on the one hand they have to comply with increasingly strict regulations, on the other hand they face the challenge of maintaining a user experience without sacrificing privacy.
The case in Australia reflects a broader global dynamic, where governments are beginning to take aggressive steps to protect children in the digital space. However, as is currently seen, the success of policies is not only determined by the sophistication of technology, but also the commitment of platforms to implement them consistently.
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