A promised trial to limit children’s access to adult content on social media will not actually trial technology with social media platforms, government officials have conceded.
The federal government committed $6.5 million to “conduct a pilot of age assurance technology to protect children from harmful comment” at the start of May, as part of a broader package to combat gendered violence.
But under questioning at Senate estimates, officials at the communications department said social media platforms would not actually be asked to test any technologies, and indicated they would not be developing any technology to trial.
“Will there be an actual age verification process as part of the trial? Meaning, will social media platforms have to actually trial age verification at the front door before people can access the site?” Liberal senator Sarah Henderson asked.
“The department will be undertaking a trial to examine technologies that are currently available to test their effectiveness,” assistant secretary Bridget Gannon responded.
Ms Gannon then added that social media companies would not be required to participate until “phase 2” of the industry codes, which are yet to be developed.
The department said its trial would inform the development of those codes.
“It’s clear that no social media company under this ‘trial’ will be required to do anything,” Senator Henderson said.
“We’re undertaking the assessment process … to ensure that the technology is effective for age assurance, so that’s really important, we want to make sure it works,” deputy secretary James Chisholm responded.
“We will be working closely with industry as a whole, but they won’t be undertaking the trial, we will be,” Ms Gannon added.
When the government announced its age assurance pilot earlier this month, it said the trial would identify available products and test their efficacy.
It said that trial would inform existing work being undertaken by the eSafety commissioner, including the development of industry codes.
Department officials said a key element of the trial would be determining not just the “gold standard” of age assurance technology, but also willingness for it to be adopted.
Some tech groups have expressed doubt about the workability of age assurance schemes, with plans for more rigorous age verification schemes already abandoned in overseas jurisdictions.