The Australian Government is progressing its plans to limit social media access for under 16s, awarding a tender for its age assurance trial to a consortium led by the Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS).

The Age Assurance Technology Trial forms part of the Government's online safety agenda and aims to test the effectiveness of technologies that can protect young people by limiting their access to harmful and inappropriate online content.

The technologies under consideration will serve as options to prevent access to online pornography by children and young people under 18, and to limit access to social media platforms for those under 16. ACCS, an independent accredited conformity assessment body for age assurance technologies, will commence the trial immediately, with a comprehensive final report expected by mid-next year.

An online age verification system comes with potentially significant risks as we reported on in Mi3 Australia on Monday. Cybersecurity experts say such a system would become a honeypot for cybercriminals.

The trial will examine age verification, age estimation, age inference, parental certification or controls, technology stack deployments and technology readiness assessments in the Australian context. The trial will invite Australians to participate in testing these different age assurance solutions in a live environment. Age assurance technologies include methods that verify a user’s identity credentials to accurately determine their age, as well as methods that estimate the age of a user – for example, using biometric markers or digital usage patterns.

Assistant Secretary of the Online Safety Branch at the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, Andrew Irwin, said: "The department is working closely with industry and communities to deliver the age assurance trial, which will play an important role in determining the most effective way to protect young people online. As world leaders in their field and with the help of industry experts, ACCS is well placed to lead the trial, which will inform next steps for this vital work. We look forward to the findings and insights that this trial will deliver."

CEO of the Age Check Certification Scheme, Tony Allen, said: "We are honoured to lead this initiative in collaboration with the Australian Government. This trial will provide essential insights into how age assurance technology can be used to create a safer online experience for users of all ages. Our consortium is dedicated to evaluating and advancing solutions that will help protect young Australians while respecting their privacy."

It comes just over a week after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed his Government was looking to ban kids under 16 years of age from using social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat. He had earlier signaled the intention to crack down on young people on social media, but had not yet clarified an age threshold.

The Government’s decision to enact social media age limits was first revealed in September just days after the South Australian Premier, Peter Malinauskas, put his own foot forward on pushing to ban kids under 14 years of age from setting up social media accounts. The SA Premier backed up his point with an extensive report commissioned by former High Court chief justice, Robert French, investigating a legislative vehicle that could enact such a ban and enforce social media companies to establish parental consent before allowing teenagers aged 14 and 15 to use their platforms.