British communications regulator Ofcom has outlined four highly effective age verification methods that social media platforms can use to enforce the upcoming UK ban on under-16 users, ahead of a government decision expected by the end of the year and enforcement scheduled for next year.
Ofcom Details Four Age-Check Methods And Ineffective Options
Nationaltechnology.co.uk notes that comprehensive regulations are scheduled for release by the government before 2026 concludes, alongside Ofcom consultations on technology sector guidance ahead of next year’s ban implementation. As the UK government prepares for a social media ban targeting under-16s, Ofcom has identified four core verification approaches that the regulator considers highly effective for keeping underage users off restricted apps.
The multi-pronged framework aims to bridge the gap for teenagers who often lack traditional identification documents like passports or driving licences, which discernion.com notes are often unavailable or unsuitable for this age group.
- Photo ID matching: Comparing details from a government-issued document, such as a passport or driving licence, with a live selfie, as detailed by nationaltechnology.co.uk.
- Banking-based checks: Using data held by financial institutions to verify age, noting that 90% of UK 16-17 year-olds already hold a bank account.
- Digital ID services: Utilizing third-party verification providers such as EasyID or Yoti, which nationaltechnology.co.uk explains allow users to prove their age digitally after completing an initial identity check.
- Facial age estimation: Using AI via a webcam to estimate age from facial features, which nationaltechnology.co.uk and discernion.com note has seen recent improvements and provides a less intrusive option, though Ofcom recommends deploying it alongside a challenge approach.
According to nationaltechnology.co.uk, the regulator also noted that facial age estimation tools can carry a margin of error, advising platforms to use a challenge age
approach and ask users for further proof if the technology cannot confidently determine they are over 16. To further combat breaches after registration, nationaltechnology.co.uk reports that platforms should introduce measures allowing users to report suspected underage accounts and use age inference technology, alongside these options that Ofcom identified as effective.
Platforms Face Accountability As Debate Grows Over Device-Level Checks
Ofcom CEO Dame Melanie Dawes emphasized that the agency is not prescribing a single rigid system, stating that platforms must put solutions in place that preserve privacy and protect data while responsibility for compliance remains squarely with the social media platforms. nationaltechnology.co.uk adds that Dawes warned that when the ban comes into force next year, the regulator will be ready to take swift and firm action against any company that fails to comply, stating that the ban will shape the future of children’s lives online and must be done right.
Here are things that can work, they must preserve privacy, they must protect people’s data, but it’s on you to put in place what you think works for you.
Dame Melanie Dawes, CEO of Ofcom
Meta told the BBC that it already applies methods recommended by Ofcom to enforce its user age requirements or place users in Teen Accounts settings, but argued that age checks should be applied at device level via app stores as tech companies pushed back on implementation burdens. Shifting checks to Apple and Google—which operate most of the world’s smartphones and where Apple has already introduced age verification in the UK—would reduce the burden on people to have to repeatedly verify their age across multiple platforms. Although the watchdog could not specify an exact count of grown-ups who will need to verify they are not minors, it acknowledged that social media platforms will face an enormous volume of profiles requiring verification. However, Ofcom maintains that device-level checks would not absolve social networks from conducting their own verifications.
Ofcom focused toward app stores in a separate report published alongside the official guidelines.
Experts Weigh In On Privacy Concerns And Teenager Workarounds
Pieter Arntz, senior malware intelligence analyst at Malwarebytes, warned that the challenge is doing age checks without turning everyday internet use into an identity check as security and privacy experts raised concerns regarding how sensitive data will be handled under the new framework.
Around 4 in 10 under-16s plan to try to get around the ban in the UK.
The experience of countries such as Australia is that there will be a real risk of an increasingly technologically sophisticated population of young people will resort to a variety of circumvention techniques (primarily, but not exclusively VPNs) to access content hosted outside of the UK.
Will Richmond-Coggan, Partner specialising in Data and Privacy Disputes at Freeths
Dawes told the BBC that making the ban work would be a joint effort where Ofcom ensures services put in required checks while engagement is for everybody, though Ofcom concedes that the risk of circumvention cannot be entirely eliminated and some children would succeed in bypassing the age checks. Dawes explained to the BBC that the true victory will be seeing today’s eight-to-ten-year-olds step into secondary school without participating in class group chats on Snap or organizing sports matches through Instagram being considered standard behavior. The rapid assessment findings are now being considered by the government, with a decision due by the end of the year.