It’s not just social media users who will soon be subject to age verification. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman wants it applied to search engines, too. What’s the scam?
The scam is how the eSafety Commissioner’s new codes to “govern the conduct of internet service companies in Australia” will be extended to search engines, an inclusion Parliament never debated or voted for. The codes were originally intended for young social media users.
As of December 27 this year, Google, Microsoft, and other search engine providers will be required to verify the age of their users. In other words, everyone will have to either log in, or explicitly accept that Google et al use the data they already have on all of us to verify that we’re old enough to search.
If they fail to verify or make a mistake, the search engines can be fined up to $50 million per breach.
The search engines will have to filter out pornography, high-impact violence, and other content deemed to be unhealthy for those under 18, but OK for the rest of us.
(And, of course, Special Envoy for Zionism, Jillian Segal, will no doubt want to help set those rules for young and old alike.)
Notwithstanding that there are endless ways to circumvent this, rendering both it and the social media age verification useless, it is also a complete cop-out from making the internet behemoths invest in meaningful content moderation.
That’s too hard, apparently. Just as forcing them to pay their fair share of tax in Australia is.
Kim Wingerei is a businessman turned writer and commentator. He is passionate about free speech, human rights, democracy and the politics of change. Originally from Norway, Kim has lived in Australia for 30 years. Author of ‘Why Democracy is Broken – A Blueprint for Change’.