New rules requiring search engines like Google to verify the age of logged in users – and filter content for everyone else – came into force in Australia this week.
The Australian Electronic Safety Commissioner’s new rules came into force on December 27, with a six-month deadline for full implementation. They require search engines to verify users’ ages using methods such as photo ID, facial scanning, credit cards, digital ID, parental consent, AI or third-party verification.
According to regulatory guidelines, the highest level security filters must be applied by default to accounts suspected of being operated by someone under the age of 18, companies must create a reporting mechanism to flag violators, and search results must be filtered for dangerous content like pornography and graphic violence.
Campaign speakers on privacy and freedom are very concerned about regulation.
Jason Bassler, co-founder of The Free Thought Project podcast, said in a statement
Source: Jason Bassler
These requirements follow Australia restricting access to social media platforms to users under the age of 16, which came into force on December 10.
Ireland pushes for social media verification in EU
The Irish government has announced plans to promote similar age verification measures for social media users across Europe when it assumes the presidency of the Council of the EU in July 2026.
The proposed measures would also ban anonymous accounts in the EU and require identity documents to be posted on social media under the guise of cracking down on online hate and disinformation, according to Irish news site Extra.ie.
Tánaiste, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Simon Harris told the publication that Media Minister Patrick O’Donovan would present the proposal next year.
“We have the digital age of consent in Ireland, which is 16, but it’s just not enforced. And I think that’s a very important decision. And then I think there’s a broader issue, which will require work that’s not limited to the Irish level, around anonymous bots,” Harris said.
A Dublin woman was recently sentenced to six months in prison for sending social media messages to the Irish leader, allegedly calling him a murderer and wishing harm on his family.
US responds to foreign regulators over First Amendment concerns
Moves in Australia and Europe to crack down on social media companies have drawn a sharp backlash from the Trump administration.
U.S. Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers claimed that U.K. and EU regulators were trying to censor U.S.-based platforms and undermine the protections offered by the First Amendment.
“And cumulatively, what all these hostilities really herald is that Europe, the United Kingdom and other governments abroad are attempting to overturn the American First Amendment by enforcing it against American businesses and American speakers on American soil. »
In June, Ofcom, the regulator and competition authority for Britain’s communications industries, opened an investigation and threatened to fine New York-based chatroom 4chan for breaching the UK’s Online Safety Act 2023.
Among the most radical responses being considered by the United States is the Wyoming GRANITE Act, which proposes to allow American people, individuals or companies to sue foreign governments that attempt to impose censorship or content moderation rules on them.
The US State Department also announced sanctions against five European officials on December 23, whom it accused of leading “organized efforts to coerce US platforms to censor, demonetize and remove US views to which they oppose.”
