CANBERRA, Australia—The government of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Sunday the final results of the national Age Assurance Technology Test (AATT). AATT is a government-sponsored pilot study meant to investigate the capabilities of age assurance technology as a sweeping ban on social media for minors under the age of 16 years.
"The Albanese Government is on the side of families, and we’re pushing forward with our mission to keep kids safer online through world-leading reforms," shared Anika Wells, the minister of communications for the Albanese administration, in a statement.
"This report is the latest piece of evidence showing digital platforms have access to technology to better protect young people from inappropriate content and harm."
Minister Wells said there was "no one-size-fits-all solution," noting that the report showed age checks could be effective. Despite the praise for the report's findings, the glaring concerns persist. As AVN reported over the summer about the preliminary findings of the AATT, accuracy and data privacy remain top concerns for critics.
"This means people as young as 13 or 14 could be estimated to be 16 years of age, and gain access to platforms when they should be blocked. And some 16- and 17-year-olds could be marked under age and restricted," observes Lisa M. Given, a professor of information sciences at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University), in a recent column reacting to the findings for The Conversation.
"The technologies can also be more error-prone for young women, compared to young men, and for those with darker skin tones," argued Given. Given notes that users may find themselves relying on a "false sense of security" utilizing age verification as a sweeping tool.
The report noted "concerning evidence" that software developers were building tools to enable data tracing, with potential for data breaches.
