Meta trying to ‘deflect’ and ‘confuse’ Australia’s social media age verification debate

Social media giant Meta has been singled out for trying to distract Australians from its role in harming the health of children by shifting responsibility for age verification on to app stores.

Social media giant Meta has been accused of trying to distract Australians from its role in harming the mental and physical health of children by shifting responsibility for age verification on to app stores.

Child safety advocates say the Facebook and Instagram parent-company’s push toward federal laws requiring the Apple and Google app stores to verify a user’s age are designed to “deflect” and “confuse” the debate.

It comes as the Albanese Government will announce the “third phase” of its age assurance trial will go to tender on Tuesday after News Corp last week revealed Labor had not yet started this crucial component of the $6.5 million trial first flagged in May.

The phase includes an assessment of the technology available to assure the age of a users at various check points including setting up a device, starting an app store account, downloading an app and creating a social media profile.

But advocates are urging the government not to get delayed by the technological debate, after Meta’s vice president and global head of safety Antigone Davis told a social media inquiry hearing in Canberra last week app stores should be required to verify ages before a user downloads apps like Instagram or Facebook.

Meta wants Australia to focus on app stores as the gateway for age verification. Picture: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP

Heads Up Alliance co-founder Dany Elachi said social media platforms need to take on an “ongoing age verification” role.

“Not only are they trying to shift responsibility, I think they’re also hoping that many parents don’t pay attention, or bypass those once-only app store checks and then it’s back to business as usual,” he said.

“I’m not against ‘age gating’ at the level of Apple and Google, but that shouldn’t absolve social media platforms from also creating a barrier.”

He also warned politicians not to get caught in the “trap” of a complicated technical debate at the expense of acting urgently.

“If the technology isn’t quite there yet, that shouldn’t stop us getting laws on the books ... we can step up enforcement over time,” he said.

Eating Disorders Families Australia executive director Jane Rowan said it was “not appropriate” for social media companies like Meta to be “trying to absolve themselves” from solving the problems they helped to create.

“There is no one solution to this problem, we have to through everything at it and age verification is definitely needed, but we have to have as many stakeholders as possible involved in this,” she said.

Coalition communications spokesman David Coleman said Meta wanted regulators looking “everywhere except at them”. Picture: BONAVENTURE / AFP)

Ms Rowan said she was “very concerned” the technological debate would slow progress on protecting young Australians from the physical and mental health harms research has increasingly linked to social media.

Coalition communications spokesman David Coleman said Meta wanted regulators looking “everywhere except at them”.

“Social media is the problem - so we have to focus the solution on social media,” he said.

“It’s a very obvious tactic, which is designed to deflect attention away from them and confuse the debate.”

Mr Coleman said Meta clearly believed if it could start a war amongst the tech platforms about age verification the end result would be “nothing happens”.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the government knew parents were “rightly concerned about safety for their children online”.

“But parents and young people themselves, have told me they also expect government to consider privacy, the ethics of different technologies and not isolating young people from their digital native world in our policy response,” she said.

“Big tech and social media platforms share a responsibility for the safety of their users, especially to young people.

“We expect everyone to do their share of the heavy-lifting.”