Instagram is bringing testing of its AI-powered age-verification system to Australia.
The social media platform began testing in the US in April, with the technology designed to manage fake adult accounts and place them under teen account settings (over 16s, under 18s).
Australia's esafety commissioner last week a released guidelines for Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age to implement minimum age requirements for social media platforms taking effect December 10.
However, the commissioner has not mandated the use of any particular technology for social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Tik Tok, X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit.
Instagram's approach to using self-reported birthdates alongside AI to manage suspected accounts aligns with the commission's guidance of using "minimally invasive" methods to age-verification. Results have revealed nine out of every ten active teen accounts remain under these protections.
The technology will use built-in protections to limit who can contact the flagged accounts and what content they can access.
Instagram recently announced that it will prevent teens from going live or turning off the setting that hides unwanted images in direct messages.
Users will have an option to correct their settings if they believe Instagram has made a mistake, complying with the commission's expectation for platforms to provide 'accessible review mechanisms'.
Australian parents will also receive in-app prompts with how to have conversations with their children about age identification and tips on checking and confirming this together.
The regional policy director at Meta, Mia Garlick, said bringing the AI technology to Australia is a step towards bettering online safety by flagging potential under-age accounts, but calls on app stores to have age-verification earlier in the user experience.
"Understanding age online is a complex, industry-wide challenge, especially if people misrepresent how old they are," said Garlick.
"We’ve spent many years and invested heavily to refine our AI technology to identify in a privacy-preserving way whether someone is under or over 18. By expanding these measures to Teen Accounts in Australia, we’re helping ensure teens have safer, age-appropriate experiences on Instagram.
"That said, we think there’s a better way to understand a teen’s age. We’d like to see App Stores, such as the Apple App Store or Google Play, give parents the ability to verify their teens’ age directly at the point of download, which could then send a signal to apps like Instagram regarding a person’s age range."
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