Australia to test age verification tech for social media ban

Incode Technologies has announced its participation in a trial initiated by the Australian government to evaluate technologies to prevent minors from accessing social media platforms.

The trial is a response to the impending nationwide ban on social media access for individuals under 16 in Australia, expected to be implemented in November. This initiative is set to test the effectiveness and readiness of age assurance technologies within the Australian context.

Recent research has highlighted the significant usage of social media among children in Australia. 80% of children aged 8-12, equating to approximately 1.3 million youngsters, use one or more social media platforms. This underscores the potential for widespread breaches of current minimum age policies.

Age-assurance technologies, which verify, estimate, or infer users' ages, are considered vital tools for regulators and digital platforms seeking to safeguard online environments.

Incode Technologies utilises a biometric solution where a user's age is estimated from a selfie within seconds, without storing personal information, achieving a 99.87% true positive rate. The entire verification process is completed in approximately three seconds on average and has shown high accuracy in estimating the age of minors between 6 and 17 years old.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has validated the company's system. Through rigorous testing across various scenarios, it has proven accuracy, reliability, and unbiasedness among the top performers.

In the Australian trial, Incode aims to showcase its capability in two categories of age verification: Facial Age Estimation and Document-Based Verification.

Facial Age Estimation involves a selfie scan using advanced AI algorithms to estimate the user's age, with a strict privacy policy that ensures no biometric data is stored or shared.

Document-based verification uses government-issued IDs to validate a user's identity. It matches the ID with a selfie for ownership confirmation and calculates age from the date of birth. This method ensures data privacy by only extracting essential information.

Yoon Kim, Product Lead at Incode Technologies, stated, "We don't just meet requirements — we innovate alongside our clients to solve the industry's toughest age-related challenges, with privacy and safety at the core of everything we build."

Milo Flores, GTM Lead for Age Verification at Incode Technologies, added, "Our long-standing expertise in age estimation extends beyond age-gated industries, helping businesses across sectors combat fraud while ensuring seamless user experiences. This depth of experience makes us a natural fit for this groundbreaking trial, which aligns with our mission to build trust and security in the digital world."

The UK-based nonprofit Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS) will trial a globally recognised body specialising in age-assurance systems. The trial's findings are expected to guide future regulatory frameworks and best practices for age verification solutions, supporting innovation while maintaining privacy standards for vulnerable online users.