Australian regulators to use bank ID software in age limitations on social media use

Australia’s biggest banks are unexpectedly being drawn into efforts to enforce a world-first ban on under-16s using social media, due to take effect in December this year.

The key tool under trial is ConnectID, an identity system owned by the country’s major lenders. While originally created to confirm customer details securely through bank accounts, it is now being tested as a means of verifying age on digital platforms under pressure to comply with the new restrictions.

Why should banks in Australia take up this initiative?

The software is being paired with k-ID, a Singapore-based provider that uses facial analysis to estimate a user’s age. The Singapore provider already supplies Discord, a British company, its technology and it has now tightened access to adult content. Despite declining to name the companies on board their system, they said in Australia some social media companies were trialling the partnership.

The financial sector in Australia might become central in the regulatory crackdown if the move goes through and this is being monitored by other countries around the world.

Questions on why banking executives want to deal with the prospect of confirming the ability of teenagers to log on to social media as it is not within their usual operations have popped up. But ConnectID believes it is part of their extension services.

ConnectID works by linking a website to a user’s bank account, and the system issues an anonymous signal confirming whether the person is above or below a set age threshold. Banks argue that the tool provides a reliable fall-back if facial estimation software delivers an incorrect result, since most teenagers hold bank accounts.

No platforms have yet formally signed up to use ConnectID for the ban, though the company says it can operate as a stand-alone solution or in tandem with k-ID.

Gaming also requires stricter moderation

The two firms are also pitching their partnership to gaming companies and games are not covered by the upcoming social media ban, but new laws will require stricter moderation for under-age players.

“Partnering with ConnectID means we can help Australian platforms offer safer environments for younger players through real-time age verification,” said Kieran Donovan, chief executive of k-ID.

Earlier this year, ConnectID was one of dozens of providers tested in a government trial exploring “age assurance” technology. Its tie-up with k-ID, and the fact it is already being trialled by social media firms, have not been previously reported.

According to the Australian government report released in August, it found that selfie-based age estimation software can generally enforce restrictions. However, accuracy faltered around the critical 16-year-old cut off.

Ministers in their response, have said they expect social media platforms to adopt the more reliable progressively checks rather than depending on a single technology. Using facial recognition as an initial measure and banking data as a backstop, is one of the aim of the combination of k-ID and ConnectID.

Other jurisdictions are closely watching the Australian crackdown, with lawmakers in the US and Europe also under immense pressure to curb minors’ exposure to harmful content. The Australian experiment will be seen as a case study.

If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.