Apple’s Innovative Technology May Enable Social Media Apps to Identify Users Under 16

Soon, social media platforms may be able to tell if children under the age of 16 are using their iPhone apps. This change comes as Apple introduces new technology that could help enforce a social media ban in Australia. By the end of this year, Apple plans to launch an age range API (application programming interface) on its iPhone and iPad devices. This API will allow app developers to ask for the age range of a child user, as long as parents give their permission.

With this new system, Apple will be able to let apps know if a user is under 18, under 16, or under 13. Based on this information, the apps can decide what content to show or if they should completely block access to the app. Parents will have control over the declared age of their child on the Apple device and can correct any mistakes in the date of birth if needed. Importantly, the child’s actual birth date will not be shared with the apps.

In addition to this new technology, Apple is updating the age ratings for apps in its app store. Currently, there are just two ratings—12+ and 17+. The new ratings will be expanded to four categories: 4+, 13+, 16+, and 18+. The highest rating, 18+, will be for apps that involve gambling, heavy references to alcohol, drugs, sexual content, or realistic violence.

In December last year, the Australian government passed a law that bans social media use for children under 16. Platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat will need to take reasonable steps to verify the ages of their users. Before the law was enacted, companies like Meta and TikTok argued that Apple and Google, being the makers of devices, should be responsible for age verification. However, the government decided that the responsibility should fall primarily on app developers.

Even though Apple is providing this new tool, it will ultimately be up to the app itself to check a user’s age. The government will then decide if this process is a “reasonable step” for social media companies to keep users under 16 away from their platforms. The guidelines for the age ban bill state that the “reasonable steps” test will consider various factors, including the effectiveness of the methods, costs, and privacy implications for users.

It will be up to social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok to decide if they want to implement Apple’s new option and how to include non-Apple users in their age verification processes. Recently, Google announced that it would begin testing a “machine learning-based age estimation model” in the U.S. this year to determine if users are under or over 18, with plans to expand the technology to other countries over time.

The age assurance technology trial, which involves parental certification and controls, is ongoing and will provide a preliminary report to the government by the end of April. The social media ban is set to take effect in December, once the communications minister finalizes which platforms will be included and what technology will be used for age verification.