(March 25): Apple Inc has rolled out age verification requirements for users in the UK that will ask customers to confirm that they’re at least 18 years old to access certain features.
Apple will confirm user ages with credit cards or payment methods on file or by asking users to scan an ID, it said in a post on its support page. Content filters will be turned on automatically for underage users or anyone who hasn’t confirmed their age, it said. Children under 13 cannot create an account without a guardian.
The UK communications regulator Ofcom said in a statement the age verification would support the Online Safety Act and help “keep young people away from harmful content". The act is a clampdown on digital abuse, fraud and harmful content and includes measures to protect kids from encountering damaging posts on topics including suicide, self-harm and eating disorders. While the regulation doesn’t require app stores to police user ages, Ofcom has been exploring how children use the online accounts.
Age checks are part of a broader conversation about the impact that social media has on teenagers and children that’s led governments around the world to explore bans and restrictions on the platforms for underage users. Australia implemented a ban in December, requiring Meta Platforms Inc’s Instagram and Facebook, Snap Inc, Elon Musk’s X, TikTok and Google’s YouTube to keep minors off of their platforms.
Apple and other app store owners have generally argued against being held responsible for age verification. In the US, lobbyists for Apple and Google have argued verification risks violating children’s privacy and said individual apps are in a better position to check user ages.
Uploaded by Arion Yeow
