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Google is considering a proposal to allow users to store and share their identification documents, such as passports or driver’s licences, on their phones as part of the Australian government’s test of technologies intended to enforce the upcoming social media ban for under 16s.
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Although the proposed system will likely benefit adults who have identification, it may be less useful for identifying teenagers without such documents, which raises questions about its effectiveness for enforcing the ban.
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The social media ban for children under 16 is set to take effect in seven months, but the specifics of its implementation are still under consideration.
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A trial of the technology for checking user ages on social media apps will conclude in June. The decision on the platforms to which the ban will apply is expected soon.
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The Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS), conducting the trial, withheld updates during the federal election campaign. However, this week, it released the minutes of a stakeholder meeting in March.
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At the meeting, Iain Corby, the executive director of the Age Verification Providers Association, mentioned that Google is "considering" a system that would allow users to store an age credential in their Google Wallet for use when needed by apps and websites.
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Google announced in April that it will implement ID passes in Google Wallet in the UK, after making it available in the US.
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This system enables users to store an ID, such as a passport or driver’s license, in the wallet and share their date of birth with a website or app without providing other personal information, using existing phone payment authentication methods.
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Google also announced in February that it's testing a machine learning-based method to determine whether a user is under or over 18.
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Google was contacted for comment.
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Apple announced similar technology in February, but they have not been responsive to requests for information.
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Dr Alexia Maddox, director of digital education at La Trobe University, believes Google's proposal is a misunderstanding of the social media ban's intent, questioning whether children, the group the policy aims to protect, would be likely to use or have access to Google Wallet.
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