Overview
- A follow-up shadow trial reported on July 7 found that testers who opened 50 accounts declaring age 16 were not asked to provide age proof on any of nine major platforms.
- The failure occurred at the initial age‑inference stage that is supposed to flag likely underage users for stricter checks, preventing escalation to formal verification methods.
- Platforms defended low‑friction approaches and said escalation depends on user behaviour, while some companies declined to comment and one smaller service, Kick, required proof of age.
- Australia has doubled the maximum fine and warned of court action as regulators press tech firms for clearer evidence that their layered checks actually block under‑16s.
- The results are prompting other governments in the EU, UK and Canada to rethink whether bans, feature limits or stronger verification best balance child safety, privacy and practicality.