Search giants must protect children from harmful content or cop $50m fine
Starting Saturday, search engines will have reasonable ways to determine the age of their users and limit the risk of children being accidentally exposed to inappropriate content or facing potential fines of up to $49.5 million per violation.
The rules are part of the Australian government’s sweeping online safety industry rules, which were signed into law last year and include a lengthy, gradual age verification compliance timeline.
First, social media sites were required to block under-16s from December 10 last year, then from March 9 pornography sites were required to verify ages to only allow adults access. Now, starting June 27, platforms such as Google and Bing search must provide appropriate experiences by determining the age of their users.
This doesn’t mean Australians will be asked to record a selfie or provide credentials to search on Google; because the web giant already has a good idea about the ages of its users. But this means providers could be penalized for not taking adequate precautions, making safety precautions more visible even to adults.
A spokesman for the eSafety Commissioner, the regulatory body responsible for enforcing the measures, said: “The obligations in the law focus in particular on preventing accidental and unintentional exposure of children to age-inappropriate and seriously harmful material.”
“The requirements differ depending on whether the user has an account and is therefore assessed for age, or is not logged in.”
In summary, the rules mean that search engine providers must:
- Filter out pornographic images and high-impact violent material for logged-in users under 18 years of age.
- Blur out pornographic and violent images for logged out users, but users can still access the content by clicking.
- Any call regarding self-harm or suicide is best served by providing referrals to appropriate mental health support services.
For logged in users, this means that adults can set content rules as they wish to allow or block excessive content, while children will be blocked from viewing this content. Meanwhile, logged-out users or those using the browser’s equivalent of incognito mode will see sexually explicit images in search results blurred out unless they choose to click on them.
After several updates in recent years, this is largely how Google Search and Bing are designed to work. Google and Microsoft have been contacted for comment.
Age Restricted Material Codes do not mandate the type of age assurance services must adopt; It simply says that methods should take into account the technical correctness, robustness, reliability and fairness of the solution. Options include facial age estimation and identity checks, but the tech giants will likely rely on the AI-based age estimation they already use in accounts.
For example, when creating a Google account, the user can easily lie by giving his or her age. But as the user browses the web, uses services, sends messages, and interacts with others, metadata can help identify a possible age range and potentially trigger further age assurance measures.
Of course, children determined to see obscene images need not lie; they can log out or enable incognito mode. To block the materials completely, parents need to enable a filter on their machine or network.
The next key date in the age assurance timeline is September 9, when app stores including Apple and Google will require age ratings, blocking underage access to R-rated software.
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Tim Biggs is a writer covering consumer technology, gadgets, and video games.Connect with: X or email.
