Australia would need to consider new laws to protect people's private data when mandating , a parliamentary committee has heard, as experts paint a picture of what a verification scheme would look like. or signup to continue reading Legislation to be introduced before the next election The Prime Minister, but is expected to use the results of the government's age-verification trial to guide his decision. Academic experts and young people have criticised the idea of a federally enforced social media ban, pointing to a lack of evidence to support the benefits and raising concerns children would use VPN services or AI to bypass verification technologies.
Iain Corby, executive director of the AVPA, said the age-verification process typically begins with a physical ID such as a drivers licence or passport which that is compared to a selfie of the user. "We could also use open banking to check with your bank if your age is correct, or refer to things like the electoral roll or credit reports as another way of checking age," Mr Corby said. Users could have their age verified externally and receive a digital token to be presented as proof of age without handing over their personal information, which was supported by the in a report released last year.
Australia would also have to consider introducing new laws similar to those in the UK that make it illegal for third-party providers to unnecessarily retain peoples personal details during the age verification process, the inquiry heard.