Key points
- Australian banks’ ConnectID age verification system is being tested for compliance with a new ban on teen social media.
- ConnectID, paired with k-ID’s facial recognition technology, offers a potential solution for age verification.
- Some Australian social media companies are already testing the combined system.
- The system is also being pitched to Australian gaming platforms for age-appropriate content moderation.
Australia is set to implement a world-first ban on teenagers accessing social media platforms starting in December. To ensure compliance, a novel approach leveraging the country’s banking sector is currently undergoing testing. ConnectID, an identity verification tool owned by Australia’s major banks, is being paired with k-ID, a Singapore-based age estimation provider, to create a robust age verification system.
ConnectID verifies age using bank account details, while k-ID employs facial recognition technology. This combined approach aims to provide a more accurate and reliable method of determining user age than existing facial recognition alone.
Several unnamed Australian social media companies are already trialing the partnership. While ConnectID offers its service as a standalone solution, the combined system with k-ID is also being marketed. Although no social media companies have yet signed up specifically for the teen social media ban, the combined solution is being proactively pitched to the market.
Notably, the companies are also targeting Australian gaming platforms, which, while unaffected by the social media ban, face separate regulations mandating stricter content moderation for younger users.
The accuracy of age-estimation software was a key concern in a recent government trial. While the trial indicated that age-guessing software could generally enforce the ban, the accuracy of selfie-based systems decreased around the 16-year-old cutoff.
ConnectID addresses this by providing an additional layer of verification using bank account data, offering a more accurate confirmation for users whose age might be incorrectly estimated by facial recognition. This approach is particularly relevant given that most teenagers in Australia possess bank accounts.
The unexpected involvement of Australia’s banking sector underscores the complexity and importance of online child safety regulations. The success of this initiative could set a global precedent for other jurisdictions grappling with similar challenges in protecting teenagers online.
The partnership represents a significant development in the ongoing effort to create safer online environments for young people.
