Social media age ban risks stoking surveillance, tech veteran warns

A ban on social media for children under 16 is technically unfeasible and could result in even more surveillance of users, a US technology industry veteran says, as Australian federal and state governments move towards bipartisan support for a ban.

Meredith Whittaker is president of Signal, an encrypted messaging app used by about 40 million people globally, and is a former employee at Google, where she led a walkout of more than 20,000 employees in protest at the company’s handling of sexual harassment cases.

Meredith Whittaker, the former Google manager who is now president at Signal.Credit: Washington Post

Speaking in an interview before an event next week at Melbourne’s Wheeler Centre, Whittaker said age verification technologies were not fit for purpose and would exacerbate many of the issues caused by social media.

“There’s an identification of a real problem, that social media platforms are often unhealthy environments,” she said.

“We have a handful of platforms in the world that are shaping our global information environment or access to news, what we think, what we know. There’s a lot about social media that is a huge problem, starting with the surveillance business model that underwrites the entire thing.

“But my god, banning people under 16 from using social media will not work. It’s a desire to almost extend the surveillance and the monitoring that underlie many of the harms of the business model.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and communications spokesman David Coleman last week.Credit: Louise Kennerley

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said last week that the Coalition, if elected, would within 100 days of forming government push for laws forcing social platforms to check if people were 16 before opening an account, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he supportd the idea “if it can be effective.”

The prime minister spruiked a $6.5 million age verification trial in the May budget, while Dutton has said young teens are suffering from an increase in mental health and body image issues since the rise of Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

This month, tech giant Meta deployed an age verification system from technology company Yoti for Australian Facebook users trying to edit their age to gain access. Users are asked to prove their age by uploading a video selfie or submitting an ID, but tests have found the technology can be bypassed. Australian technology reporter Cam Wilson was able to buy a knife online last week despite pretending to be a nine-year-old girl.

“We know that the systems don’t work, and we know that total surveillance of every single one of our actions is not a desirable future,” Whittaker said.

‘It is easier to demonise encryption than it is to look at the really difficult issues.’

Meredith Whittaker

“It would basically be creating a system to monitor internet usage at a whole population scale, because you can’t know that somebody is over 16 without checking everyone at the gate, so to speak, before they sign in.

“I do hope that Australian regulators pick up the mantle and recognise that this is a serious issue. The tech platforms do need to be reined in. But extending those surveillance practices, extending practices of monitoring and repression of expression is not the way to do it, and is actually exacerbating the problem instead of solving it.”

Whittaker is enrolled as a PhD student at the University of Western Australia and is working to set up a research program there to create evidence-based solutions to tackle issues of child safety.

Whittaker is a PhD student at the University of Western Australia.Credit: Washington Post

While encrypted messaging apps like Signal are regularly blamed for enabling criminal activity and the transmission of illegal material such as child pornography, Whittaker said those arguments create an “easy scapegoat” for avoiding dealing with the criminal activity itself.

End-to-end encryption is a method of secure communication that ensures only the communicating users can read messages. Law enforcement agencies argue it can hamper their ability to investigate and prevent crimes.

“Look, cars can be used to transport weapons, hands can be used to write plans for criminality, there are many, many tools in the world that can be used many ways. And these tools don’t cause criminal behaviour,” Whittaker said.

“It’s an easy scapegoat, and the scapegoat that many in law enforcement have wanted to target for a very long time. It is much easier to demonise encryption than it is to look at the really difficult issues, the fact that most abuse happens in the family, the fact that incest is one of the most common forms of child sexual abuse, the fact that we live in a world where we may want desperately to help children.”

Whittaker has long advocated tackling cultural issues plaguing Silicon Valley, which she says are driving away underrepresented workers, including women.

“Generally things have actually not improved, they’ve gotten much worse,” she said, referring to issues including sexual harassment and gender equality.

“There’s a backlash against diversity initiatives, there’s a backlash against many of the ethical measures that we have fought for. There’s more or less a reactionary backlash to the move for diversity and a more inclusive environment.

“And the culture that we’re seeing grow in tech is [worshipping] very big, bro-ish personalities who often express pretty virulently bigoted opinions. And right now if you feel alienated every day at a place that you’re spending your one magical lifetime, you may not want to stay there.”

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