Age verification for social media is the right idea built the wrong way

Date:
Mon, 08 Jun 2026 13:51:05 +0000

Description:
Social media bans for minors risk sacrificing digital privacy in pursuit of online safety.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter This February, Spain announced plans for a comprehensive social media ban for children under 16. It was no longer acceptable, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Snchez told an audience at
the World Governments Summit in Dubai, to leave children unattended in the digital Wild West, which he described as rife with addiction, abuse, pornography, manipulation [and] violence.

Snchez was clear on another point. The proposed ban, which is still pending parliamentary approval, would require social media platforms to implement not just check boxes, but real barriers that work for age verification. The BBC suggested his comment may have been in reference to Australias ban, with its laxer checks already proving somewhat susceptible to loopholes. Jarek Sygitowicz Social Links Navigation

Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Authologic. Spain and Australia are not anomalies here. A range of legislationsome passed, some still being debatedin countries like Portugal, France, Denmark, Greece, and Ireland cover everything from raising age limits as high as 16 and tying access to verified parental consent. In the US, the Trump administration is reportedly considering a nationwide social media ban modeled after Australia following the failure of the Kids Off Social Media Act to advance in Congress. Latest Videos From Watch full video here:

The various proposals and fact-finding committees far outnumber the pieces of actual legislation, but the appetite for action on the issue is undeniable. This is a global movement driven by rightfully concerned parents, educators, and policymakers. The risk of psychological harm through exposure to explicit and hateful content has grown too enormous to ignore.

This risk, however, doesnt justify policies that would undermine fundamental digital privacy and autonomy rights, and therein lies one of the most
pressing (and under-discussed) issues lurking behind these bans. You may like Apples iOS-level age verification is a mess, but it could be what we need The UK Government's new social media rules for under-16s are coming soon Proton CEO warns global age verification push will mean "the death of anonymity online" Privacy trade-offs in the name of safety Identity verification will
be crucial to any properly functioning ban. If you ban people under 16 from social media, you need to give people over 16 a way to legally access the
same platforms.

The simplest mechanism to verify someones identity is to require a photo of a government ID like a drivers license or a passport. This method is also completely unacceptable, as it creates a centralized trove of sensitive information that can be compromised by a bad actor. Even when digital wallets or national ID apps are used, the risk remains that platforms, third parties, or governments will gain access to more personal data than necessary. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting
your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

This isnt an imagined hypothetical. Chinas Internet real-name system requires users to register services with their real identity, making it a target of warranted criticism over privacy breaches and surveillance overreach. The UKs Online Safety Act has been similarly criticized for its dependence on face
and ID scanning as a means of age verification.

The EU has tried to avoid similar issues by insisting that its own systems of age-verification ought to be anonymous and device-based. A number of
proposals put forward by EU countries, however, still gravitate toward outdated solutions that collect a surplus of data.

Policymakers tend to default to invasive checks that equate verification with disclosure, and the resulting tension is one digital rights advocates will recognize. What is the price of privacy? And how do we protect kids from harm without compromising everyones privacy and autonomy? What to read next Japan is considering stronger age restrictions for social media use but public response to the move hasn't been as positive as hoped Medical report links social media use in children to tobacco use From essential security tools to restricted circumvention software: The EU signals that VPNs are the next target following the release of its age verification app Digital identification and age assurance Rather than keep minors off social media altogether, some policymakers have floated the idea of implementing minor-specific restrictions within the platforms themselves. The European Parliament is currently debating limiting minors from accessing in-platform features like infinite scrolling, auto play, pull-to-refresh, reward loops, and gamification.

Although more nuanced than a straight ban, these proposed restrictions complicate the larger age verification issue by requiring minors to submit
age proofs instead of adults. When we wave off these challenges as naturally solved by digital identity, we inadvertently frame digital identity as a single, one-size-fits-all toolwhich it isnt.

Some digital identity solutions require users to submit highly sensitive
data, such as photos of government-issued IDs and their own face, extending well beyond whats actually needed to prove legal age. Newer approaches designed to limit how much information is shared allow people to prove specific attributes without exposing their full identity. This is going to be a critical distinction as we edge closer to the burden of proof falling on people under 18. The future of social media bans is the future of digital privacy Policymakers need to prioritize privacy-centric digital ID technologies to protect adults and kids. New technologies are making this possible.

Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) are one of them. ZKPs are cryptographic techniques that allow a user to prove the truth of a claimI am at least 16 years oldto a platform without revealing any specific identifying
information, such as their birthdate. This minimal data exchange transmits
the truth of the over-16 claim and nothing else. Theres no centralized database that can be hacked, leaked, or misused. This is an essential protection for platforms requiring verification from minors.

A number of digital wallets are already adopting ZKPs for identity
assertions, but implementation is far behind the intensifying progress of social media bans. It has to catch up. Eroding the digital privacy of adults was never the solution, and ZKPs reconcile this desire to protect individual freedoms with the goal to safeguard minors online.

Underscoring this debate is the broader principle that safety and liberty shouldnt be treated as zero-sum, and can be complementary when systems are designed with both in mind. Protecting kids online is long overdue and a
noble goal, but it risks funneling everyone toward a model of centralized and privacy-violating digital governance.

This is to be avoided. The next decade of digital regulation will involve a flood of social media bans, but it must be accompanied by better identification mechanisms that protect without exposing. Nothing less than a truly safe and open internet is at stake. We list the best identity theft protection for families . This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives , our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit



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