Australia is about to require social media users to verify their age in order to use to social media (ie verify that they are older than 16) . My understanding is that will also impact forums such as this ? I would be interested to hear others understanding of this . Come December 10 we could see a massive impact to Aussies and their use of social media
Dear Breezerering community
I honestly declare that anyone who has seen me in my near crippled state after a descent 25knt+ session can verify I am over 16. Those who only know me digitally can p!SS off, you aren't real to me and I will continue treat you as mere shadows of humanity.
Have a good day.
Big brother is one step closer.
I did hear where facial recognition will be a prerequisite to logging onto the internet.
Most users in here are well past 60. It will not affect it at all. It will still be a sleepy forum with the occasional bust of activity when Loz lets PC out of the closet.
You cant open a facebook account without submitting a head shot video to prove to the robot that you're not a robot.
Select to expand quotehilly said..
Most users in here are well past 60. It will not affect it at all. It will still be a sleepy forum with the occasional bust of activity when Loz lets PC out of the closet.
That's true . But my understanding is that you have to prove you are not under 16
Select to expand quoteGboots said..hilly said..
Most users in here are well past 60. It will not affect it at all. It will still be a sleepy forum with the occasional bust of activity when Loz lets PC out of the closet.
That's true . But my understanding is that you have to prove you are not under 16
If that is like FB now and the 13 limit you just say you are 13. Same with online liquor stores, yes I am 18. Toothless tiger.
Seabreeze is not social media. The only affected sites are:
Facebook
Instagram
Snapchat
X/Twitter
TikTok
YouTube (But you can use it without logging in).
Still no details on how they plan to enforce this with less than 3 months to go. If you never log into the above ever again, you'll be better off for it and won't have to deal with the age ID thing.
It affects all search engines that you sign into . So Google mail will be on the list
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-11/age-verification-search-engines/105516256
Select to expand quoteGboots said..
It affects all search engines that you sign into . So Google mail will be on the list
Really. Can you post a link?
Select to expand quotewestozwind said..Gboots said..
It affects all search engines that you sign into . So Google mail will be on the list
Really. Can you post a link?
Here's another
www.sbs.com.au/news/article/why-australians-will-soon-need-to-verify-their-age-to-log-in-to-search-tools/c20ofisf9
I was previously putting that I was born in 1901 but they've cottoned onto that so had to revise new YOB to 1905
Australia has lots of laws and not the resources to enforce compliance.
Electric bikes and scooters are a classic example and before that regular bikes.
Select to expand quoteCarantoc said..
I still call Snickers Marathon and Starburst Opal Fruits.
No more proof needed.
But your profile picture?
Select to expand quotewarwickl said..
Australia has lots of laws and not the resources to enforce compliance.
Electric bikes and scooters are a classic example and before that regular bikes.
What F is that? Does that relate road laws, in NSW e-scooters , foot scooters and roller skates are allowed on roads with 50 kmh limit or less! Bikes must be ridden on bike paths where they are available.
...not the resources for compliance...
Never seen copper not take the opportunity if he saw it
Select to expand quoteSubsonic said..
But your profile picture?
That was bestowed imposed upon me, I do not choose to identify as such.
But, whilst on the subject...I've been thinkin'.....
There is clearly a difference between biological age and the social construct of maturity.
Hence if an individual were to choose to identify as mature, would this then make their scientifically derived time-based age redundant and it be perfectly acceptable for such individuals to access these sites and the law to be determined to be not applicable in their cases ?
Likewise, if I were to choose to identify as immature, but Google allowed me to log on using my non-preferred biological age, could I sue them for emotional distress ?
Will the age-verification system include options for under 16, over 16 and non-numerical to ensure inclusivity ?
Just askin'.
Select to expand quoteCarantoc said..
That was bestowed imposed upon me, I do not choose to identify as such.
But, whilst on the subject...I've been thinkin'.....
There is clearly a difference between biological age and the social construct of maturity.
Hence if an individual were to choose to identify as mature, would this then make their scientifically derived time-based age redundant and it be perfectly acceptable for such individuals to access these sites and the law to be determined to be not applicable in their cases ?
Likewise, if I were to choose to identify as immature, but Google allowed me to log on using my non-preferred biological age, could I sue them for emotional distress ?
Will the age-verification system include options for under 16, over 16 and non-numerical to ensure inclusivity ?
Just askin'.
You've made a valid point. Besides it's pros and cons. It will never be enforced... How can it if Social Media companies won't be required to prove accuracy of under 16 bans.
I was also curious about the pronunciation of your username.
Is it:
kuh-RAN-tok - The common Anglicized pronunciation or
ka-RANT-awk - The more authentic Welsh Pronunciation
An update today
theconversation.com/details-on-how-australias-social-media-ban-for-under-16s-will-work-are-finally-becoming-clear-265323
The Australian government today released regulatory guidance on the social media minimum age law, which comes into effect on December 10. The law will restrict individuals under 16 from holding accounts on many social media platforms.Reasonable steps for tech companiesThis guidance follows a self-assessment guide for technology companies recently released by the eSafety Commission. Companies can use this to determine whether their services will be age-restricted. That guidance included details on the types of platforms to be excluded from the age restrictions, such as those whose "sole or primary purpose" is professional networking, to support education or health, or to enable playing of online games.Today's guidance is aimed at services likely to be age-restricted, such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. It sets out what the government considers "reasonable steps" technology companies must take to "ensure they have appropriate measures in place" to comply with the legislation.
The onus will be on companies to prove users are over 16
Seabreeze exempt then as it's a forum primarily for health and you could probably say education too as it's technical discussions
get rid of The Hookup forum that kiters needed for some strange reason and this place is surely good to go
A few articles with reference to the teen/child social media laws.
For those of us who are parents and remember the brutality of teenage socialising, the protection of our children can be an overwhelming task. We have laws that have built up over time for very good reasons, the physical and psychological protection of minors so as to allow them the space and time to develop into functional adults.
The perspective of Musk below is that of a business man who sees the potential of an addicted client base diminishing. It is no different to the colonisers of lands in the past, the techno landscape is theirs to freely plunder regardless of the human cost.
Elon Musk's X calls for delay in Australia's child social media ban citing 'serious concerns' about policy's lawfulness | Australian politics | The Guardian share.google/XjagrMLv9krcLqFxE
www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/australias-social-media-ban-teens-draws-praise-un-2025-09-25/
Interesting that games are exempt. Roblox is a known pedo site. Don't let your kids or grandkids play Roblox.
Latest update
www.smh.com.au/technology/no-playbook-esafety-boss-backs-social-media-ban-despite-expert-warnings-20251008-p5n141.html
Still much uncertainty on how age verification will work. They have dropped the "Digital ID" hint which is a worry in relation to the protection of sensitive personal documents and ID theft . Also concerns about corporations harvesting biometric data of all users
Select to expand quoteGboots said..
Still much uncertainty on how age verification will work.
I wonder if they will take extra steps to block known ways around it.
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-02/social-media-ban-vpns-masks-age-checks-disguises/105836134
Select to expand quotegs12 said..
I wonder if they will take extra steps to block known ways around it.
Only if they are forced to.
And a court will only force them to take all "reasonable" steps. If it is easy to scam every system and there is no way around the scam then there will be no reason and no ability to take extra steps so they won't have to spend any time, money or effort to take any.
I get the idea of it. Alcohol is additive and harmful to both the individual and to society so anyone selling it has make sure the buyer is responsible by being over 18 or whatever. I get the same principal should be with harmful anything that anyone is selling, including social media.
But the only reasonable way for a bottle-shop to assess somebody is legal is a third party proof of age.
You don't send your a photo to Dan Murphy's and a Dan Murphy's sales assistant then looks at it and is the only entity who decides if you are over 18 and then you are sent a Dan Murphy's proof of age card that allows you to spend money at Dan Murphy's.
But that is what is being introduced here. The person selling the product determines the validity of their potential customer they make a profit on based on whatever system they chose to spend money on developing and using to verify validity. It is not in the big tech companies interest that big tech developed proof of age systems are reliable.
Mmmmm, I wonder what the result will be.
Select to expand quoteCarantoc said..
umm, it was a rhetorical question, was not really seeking your opinion dude, I guess I will make it explicit next time for ya
Australia is quietly introducing 'unprecedented' age checks for search engines like Google on December 27
www.afr.com/companies/media-and-marketing/google-and-bing-want-to-know-how-old-you-are-20251107-p5n8kq
