Ofcom has recommended four ways social media companies could check users’ ages ahead of a UK ban on under-16s accessing major platforms, although the government must approve the measures.
Ofcom has set out four methods it believes could effectively identify under-16s ahead of a planned UK social media ban.
The rules, due to come into force in March next year, will prevent children under 16 from accessing 10 major platforms, including Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.
Millions of adults may also have to prove they are over the age threshold, with the precise number expected to be large.
The proposed methods are subject to government approval, while social media companies will ultimately be responsible for implementing the checks.
Ofcom said photo ID matching, banking-based checks, facial age estimation and digital ID services could all be “highly effective” at determining a user’s age.
Photo ID checks would compare information from documents such as passports with a live image taken during verification.
Banking checks could use age information held by a financial institution, while digital ID services could allow users to prove their identity or provide details such as their age.
Ofcom also highlighted improvements in facial age estimation technology, which attempts to determine a person’s age from their appearance.
The regulator said traditional forms of identification can be difficult to use for 16 and 17-year-olds, who may not have a passport, full driving licence or credit card.
The UK is seeking a tougher approach than Australia, where a similar under-16 social media ban was introduced last year but children have found ways to bypass the restrictions.
Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes said the regulator had learned from introducing age checks for pornography websites and wanted to avoid prescribing a single method.
She told the BBC: “What we’ve said all along is here are things that can work, they must preserve privacy, they must protect people’s data, but it’s on you to put in place what you think works for you.”
Some technology companies, including Meta, have called for age verification to take place at device level, potentially preventing children from downloading restricted apps through Apple’s and Google’s app stores.
Ofcom said this would not remove the responsibility of social media companies to conduct their own checks.
The regulator acknowledged that circumvention could not be eliminated completely, meaning some children may still evade the measures.
Dawes said the wider aim was to change social norms around children’s use of social media.
She said: “I actually think the real prize here is going to be for today’s eight to 10-year-olds entering secondary school without it being the norm to go on Snap in your class group chat.”
The government will now consider Ofcom’s recommendations, with a decision expected by the end of the year.
Ofcom sets out age check methods for UK under-16s social media ban
