Ofcom names four 'highly effective' age-check methods for UK under-16 social media ban

Mixed · 2Ofcom has published recommendations on how social media platforms can check that users are 16 or over, ahead of the UK's planned ban on under-16s using major platforms. 1 2 Mixed · 2Beyond traditional ID, the regulator named four methods it says are 'highly effective': photo ID matching against a live image, banking-based checks using information a financial institution holds, facial age estimation technology, and digital ID services. 1 2 Right · 1The Daily Mail adds that photo ID matching would use a passport, driving licence or other approved document, that banking checks would rely on the user's consent, and that facial age estimation uses AI on a photo or live video but can be inaccurate by several years, in which case a second check may be requested. 2

Mixed · 2The BBC reports the ban is due to take effect in March next year and will block under-16s from ten of the biggest platforms, including Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat; the Mail says the restrictions take effect in 2027 when Ofcom begins monitoring compliance. 1 2 Centre · 1Ofcom's chief executive, Dame Melanie Dawes, said the regulator is not being prescriptive: it is listing things that can work, which must preserve privacy and protect data, but platforms must decide and implement their own solutions. 1 Centre · 1Many adult users will also probably have to prove they are not under-age, and Ofcom had no firm figure but conceded it would be a 'large number of accounts'. 1

Mixed · 2Ofcom acknowledged that circumvention cannot be entirely eliminated; Dawes said motivated children will seek to bypass the rules, likening it to alcohol laws not fully ending underage drinking, though platforms can mitigate this. 1 2 Centre · 1The BBC notes Australia introduced a similar ban last year but many children there have found ways round it, and that the UK says it intends a tougher approach. 1 Centre · 1Some tech firms, including Meta, want age verification at device level through app stores run by Apple and Google; Ofcom says this would not relieve social networks of doing their own checks. 1

Right · 1The Mail says Ofcom stressed that age checks can comply with data protection law despite privacy campaigners' concerns. 2 Mixed · 2The proposals are subject to government approval, with a decision due by the end of the year; Ofcom would then consult on guidance for technology companies. 1 2 Right · 1The Mail also recounts the wider package: ministers said 16- and 17-year-olds will face a midnight-to-6am cut-off and have autoplay and personalised feeds off by default, with Technology Secretary Liz Kendall citing sleep, school and family time. 2