Overview

• Australia’s final guidance requires platforms to detect and deactivate accounts held by users under 16, block re‑registration, and document “reasonable steps” or face fines up to A$49.5 million starting December 10.
• eSafety directs a multilayered, minimally invasive “waterfall” approach that can infer age using existing signals, with no blanket verification of all users and no sole reliance on government ID.
• Platforms must provide transparent processes, accessible review mechanisms for wrongful flags, ongoing system monitoring, and public reporting, with initial focus on removing existing underage accounts.
• A government‑commissioned trial found age‑assurance tools workable yet error‑prone and biased—often off by two to three years and less accurate for girls and non‑Caucasian faces—informing the guidance’s privacy‑first design.
• New York’s attorney general proposed SAFE for Kids rules requiring age checks or parental consent for algorithmic feeds and overnight notifications, offering selfie or data‑cross‑check alternatives to IDs, with public comments open through December 1 and compliance due 180 days after final rules.