#age-verification

#age-verification

The law mandates that device operating systems and app stores require users to enter their age or date of birth when setting up a new phone or computer. The new rules are slated to take effect on January 1st, 2027, and for devices set up prior to that date, the OS provider - like Apple or Google - must come up with a way for users to enter their ages by July 1st that year.

As reported by Android Central, Instagram's updated user detection process will automatically limit interactions with certain accounts when it determines that the user is under 18, even if the user tries to lie about their age by listing an adult birth date. In Australia, for example, which is moving ahead with its own laws on teen social media access, regulators recently tested 60 different age verification approaches , from a range of vendors.

A New York law could require social media platforms to implement age verification. On Monday, New York Attorney General Letitia James released the proposed rules for the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) For Kids Act, which would force platforms to confirm that someone is over 18 before allowing them to access an algorithm-driven feed or nighttime notifications. New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the SAFE For Kids Act into law last year as part of efforts to "protect the mental health of children."

Age verification laws now enacted in South Dakota and Wyoming require any website hosting sexual content to implement measures, affecting many non-pornographic sites.