Apple has introduced age verification requirements for users in the UK. Customers will now be asked to confirm that they are at least 18 years old to access certain features.
According to a post on its support page, Apple will verify ages using credit cards or other payment methods on file, or by asking users to scan a government-issued ID. Content filters will be automatically enabled for underage users or anyone who has not yet confirmed their age. Children under 13 cannot create an account without a parent or guardian.
Amy Thomson for Bloomberg News:
UK communications regulator Ofcom said in a statement the age verification would support the Online Safety Act and help “keep young people away from harmful content.” The act is a clampdown on digital abuse, fraud and harmful content and includes measures to protect kids from encountering damaging posts on topics including suicide, self harm and eating disorders. While the regulation doesn’t require app stores to police user ages, Ofcom has been exploring how children use the online accounts.
Age checks are part of a broader conversation about the impact that social media has on teenagers and children that’s led governments around the world to explore bans and restrictions on the platforms for underage users. Australia implemented a ban in December, requiring Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram and Facebook, Snap Inc., Elon Musk’s X, TikTok, and Google’s YouTube to keep minors off of their platforms.
MacDailyNews Note: Apple and other app store operators have generally opposed being held responsible for age verification. In the US, lobbyists for Apple and Google have argued that mandatory verification could violate children’s privacy, and that individual apps are better positioned to handle age checks for their users.
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Kids are clever with outwitting technology blocks and will find ways around this for sure. And Apple will be sued by parents for every incursion by their underage user. Call me skeptical.