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Instagram has announced that it will be using AI to determine the ages of its Australian users as the launch of the Australian social media ban for under-16s approaches.
From Monday (22 September), Instagram will roll out the AI age screening, having already successfully implemented it in overseas markets like the US. In the US, users flagged as under-18s are given a Teen Account, which blurs nudity, restricts messages from accounts they follow, limits sensitive content and prevents live streaming.
Mia Garlick, Meta’s regional policy director, said the new feature intends to “ensure teens have safer, age-appropriate experiences on Instagram”.
“Understanding age online is a complex, industry-wide challenge, especially if people misrepresent how old they are.
“We’ve spent many years and invested heavily to refine our AI technology to identify, in a privacy-preserving way, whether someone is under or over 18.”
While Meta said users can change which account type they have in their settings in cases where an adult has accidentally been identified as a teen, overseas, nine in 10 accounts have remained of the same type.
In November 2024, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the social media ban legislation, which would prevent those under 16 from having social media accounts, in an attempt to protect them from bullying and harmful online content.
“I know there are many mums and dads who have been pushing for change in this area, and this newspaper has run a strong campaign in support of them,” said the release.
“There’s no going back to a world without technology, and the internet has given all of us access to a world of knowledge and culture that can be such a force for good. But too often, social media isn’t social at all.”
The social media ban dictates that companies that don’t prevent, detect, deactivate or remove existing underage accounts face fines of up to $49.5 million.
While the responsibility of policing ages on social media is currently on the social media companies, Meta has argued that app stores should have verification systems that would allow parents to verify the age of their child at the point of download, preventing them from even accessing the apps.
Social media platforms must remove under-16s from their services by 10 December 2025.
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