Snapchat to text, email thousands of Australian kids ahead of December 10 ban
Social media platform Snapchat is inundating almost half a million Australian teenagers with texts and emails, in what the mother of a teen suicide victim has described as a ‘cynical’ move.
Social media platform Snapchat is inundating almost half a million Australian teenagers with texts and emails before the under 16s social media ban kicks in next month, in what the mother of a teen suicide victim has described as a “cynical” move to drum up discourse.
Santa Monica-based firm Snap Inc announced on Monday it had begun contacting 440,000 users, suspected to be aged 15 or under, “through multiple channels” to prompt them to download their ‘memories’ – old chats and videos – as well as cancelling subscriptions to their paid Snapchat+ and Memories+ services, before the ban kicks in on December 10.
Young users will be locked out of their accounts and their data archived for up to three years, or until they turn 16, after which they will be required to verify their age via third-party service providers ConnectID – which verifies age through connection to an Australian bank account – or k-ID’s photo-based facial age estimation.
Australian mother Emma Mason has been a fervent advocate for social media age restrictions since her 15-year-old daughter Matilda “Tilly” Rosewarne died by suicide after relentless online bullying – including via Snapchat.
Ms Mason said the platform’s announcement and call to action for teens could be viewed as “great corporate responsibility” but voiced suspicions about its timing.
“If one was a cynic, one might consider that this is actually about making sure that there’s enough noise and enough protest prior to 10 December,” she said.
“Is this actually about creating scuttlebutt and perhaps social discourse around … the change of law?”
The legislation was introduced following News Corp’s Let Them Be Kids campaign, which was acknowledged by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City earlier this year.
Snap Inc’s announcement comes after Meta last week revealed it would start removing under 16s from Facebook and Instagram on December 4, six days before the law begins.
TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit, Kick, and Twitch – a streaming platform only added to the ban list on Friday – are yet to explain how they will comply.
Some cybersecurity experts have already weighed in with privacy concerns associated with age verification technology, while others warned Snap and Meta’s intention to text and email under-16s with time-sensitive warnings to download their information could leave young people vulnerable to fraud.
“This is a big, complex shift. But it’s also the perfect opportunity for scammers,” Safe On Social founder Kirra Pendergast wrote on LinkedIn.
“I am fearful they may start sending fake messages that look exactly like Meta’s — urging young people to “download your data here”, or “verify your age now” through links that aren’t safe.
“We need to tell our kids today … never ever click through from a text claiming to be from an app. Not now. Not ever.”
Presbyterian Ladies College Armidale principal Nicola Taylor said the ban “has been a long time coming” but also expressed concerns that teens could be at risk of being scammed by proxy requests for bank IDs and photo verification.
“As a school for girls, we see first-hand how social media affects young girls’ social development, so we will do our part,” she said.
“But it has to be paired with education, and the tech companies really getting behind the importance of these restrictions.
“We don’t allow (children) to choose their own diet without any adult input, so why do we let them choose the online content they consume?”
Mosman mum Kristal Denny and her 15-year-old daughter Iskia Gallifuoco still have questions about how the ban will be implemented, and mixed feelings about the legislation itself.
“I think it’s good that (on social media) they don’t have the opportunity to be anonymous, like they do with just a normal text message or phone call,” Ms Denny said.
“But at the same time, there’s just way too much media thrown at them when they’re just not cognitively capable to understand it … it’s dangerous, and I think it’s led to a lot of anxiety.”
Iskia is the youngest in her friend group and will turn 16 in three months, and said she’s worried about “being left out of everything” in the interim.
However she admitted bullying has been a significant issue on the platforms and “it’ll be good, just for a couple of months” to take a break.
“I’ve seen a lot of fan pages that are just targeting other people, like people from other schools, and everyone kind of just hops in on it, laughs at it, likes it, shares it – because it’s embarrassing.”
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Originally published as Snapchat to text, email thousands of Australian kids ahead of December 10 ban
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