Snapchat doesn’t agree with the outright social media ban for Australians under 16s but it is still complying with the new law by disabling more than 415,000 accounts from its platform.
And more are taken down every day using Snapchat’s own age detection technology.
But the popular social media platform says the social media ban is still leaving significant gaps that could prevent it from reaching its goals.
Snapchat admits there are still real technical challenges and limitations when it comes to age verification technology.
This means that young people under 16 will be able to bypass these protections while others who are older than 16 may lose access.
Snapchat clearly believes an outright ban is not the right approach but it understands the Government’s objective to protect young Australians online.
But Snapchat still insists it is primarily a messaging app used by young Australians to stay in touch with friends and family.
It says cutting teens off from these people isn’t going to make them safer or happier.
Snapchat says it fundamentally disagrees with its classification by the Australian Government as an in-scope age-restricted social media platform.
It believes there are better ways to achieve the objectives of the ban with fewer downsides.
One suggestion is to create an app-store level age verification system which would provide a more consistent level of protection.
Snapchat says it is willing to participate constructively to improve the implementation and reduce negative effects.
The platform is still maintaining safety features like requiring bi-directional friendships and contact book connections for one-to-one communication.
There are also parental tools in the Family Center which offer parents even more visibility into their child’s Snapchat use including seeing how long they have been in the platform each day and who they are communicating with.
Snapchat says if the social media ban is going to exist it must be implemented consistently with proper age verification while also ensuring banned users aren’t driven to less safer alternatives.
