Tech giant Meta has pushed back against Australia’s incoming social media age ban for those aged under 16, warning that several of the new requirements are “globally novel” and risk creating major technical and privacy hurdles.
In her opening statement to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee, Meta Policy Regional Director, Mia Garlick, outlined concerns over age-assurance obligations under the Online Safety Act 2021, which would require platforms to confirm users’ ages – and restrict access to under-16s – in more stringent ways than ever before.
Garlick said it supports the shared goal of safer online experiences for young people but questioned the practicality of the proposed framework.
“Sixteen is a globally novel age boundary that presents significant new engineering and age assurance challenges,” Garlick told the committee.
“Adolescents often have limited public records, payment credentials or distinct online habits, making fine-grained inference across age bands, for example distinguishing 13 from 16, inherently less reliable,” she added.
Meta calls for unified, privacy-led approach
Meta said the government’s plan to leave age verification up to individual companies risks confusion, inconsistency and potential privacy breaches.
Instead, the company is advocating for a more streamlined and privacy-conscious approach that leverages system-level data rather than intrusive user checks.
“While we adopt a data minimisation, waterfall approach – when the age assurance solution is left to each individual app to adopt, there will inevitably be an increased risk of inconsistent outcomes and privacy and security challenges,” she said.
The company argued that broader coordination across app stores and operating systems, rather than piecemeal, app-by-app enforcement, would offer greater consistency and protect user data more effectively.
A warning shot to Canberra
Meta’s submission adds to mounting industry pressure on the Albanese government as it pushes ahead with reforms aimed at holding digital platforms accountable for online harms, in particular its social media ban for under 16s, which is due to be rolled out in December.
Alongside questions of feasibility, the company raised concerns about sovereignty and the balance between user safety, privacy, and operational practicality.
While reaffirming its commitment to online safety, including “teen accounts” and content controls already rolled out across Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, Meta said regulators’ assumptions about the technical ease and reliability of new age-verification methods are “overly optimistic.”
As the committee weighs next steps, the debate signals a pivotal moment for digital regulation in Australia – and one that could reshape how search engines, social platforms, and marketers reach the under-18 audience.