With upcoming ban, Meta begins to notify Australian teens that their accounts will be shut down

In Brief

As Australia’s social media ban for teens nether the property of 16 looms, Meta has started notifying teenage Facebook and Instagram users astir the destiny of their accounts.

When the prohibition goes into effect connected December 10, Meta volition revoke teens’ entree to their existing accounts, and arsenic of December 4, volition forestall users nether 16 from starting caller accounts. Once they crook 16, they volition beryllium capable to entree their aged relationship arsenic they near it.

It volition beryllium a challenge, however, for Meta to find which users are nether the property of 16, since radical aren’t ever truthful astir their property erstwhile signing up for societal media services. But integer property checks are notoriously difficult to execute successful a mode that’s harmless and effective. Identity verification services are high-profile targets for hacks, and the implications of adjacent a insignificant information vulnerability are severe, since idiosyncratic accusation and authorities documents tin beryllium exposed.

Identity verification platforms person already proven problematic for users’ security. Last year, 404 Media recovered that AU10TIX, a institution that verifies the individuality of users connected TikTok, Uber, and X, had near administrative credentials exposed online for implicit a year, which allowed users’ delicate accusation to beryllium exposed.

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