According to Wccftech, Apple has published a comprehensive toolkit for developers to comply with a new Australian law that bans users under the age of 16 from holding social media accounts. This law is slated to go into effect on December 10, 2024. The company issued a public notification outlining tools like age-related app store metadata and device-based age checks to help apps restrict underage access. Developers who refuse to comply face the threat of significant fines from Australian regulators. The move comes as some teens are already finding crude workarounds, like using a parent’s or even a celebrity’s photo to bypass existing age gates on platforms like Snapchat.
The Compliance Push
Here’s the thing: Apple isn’t just being a good corporate citizen here. This is a classic case of platform liability. By proactively giving developers the tools, Apple is effectively insulating itself and the App Store from blame. They can point to their toolkit and say, “We provided the means, it’s on the app makers to use them.” It’s a smart, defensive play. And let’s be real, the fines for non-compliance are no joke, so developers who want to keep their apps available in Australia basically have to pay attention. It shifts the burden of enforcement away from Apple’s review process and onto the developers’ own implementation, which is a much more scalable model for them.
The Inevitable Workarounds
But here’s where it gets messy. The article mentions those crafty teens using a mom’s photo or even Beyoncé’s face to trick Snapchat. That’s the fundamental flaw in any system that relies on self-declaration or simple photo checks. Unless Australia mandates some form of robust, government-backed digital ID—which is a whole other privacy nightmare—these workarounds will persist. Apple’s device-based checks might help if a parent has set up a child account with age restrictions, but what about a 15-year-old using a device they own? The law seems to assume a level of technical enforcement that just doesn’t exist yet. So are we setting up developers to fail?
Developer Reluctance and Real Solutions
The report notes developers aren’t exactly keen on this, and their current age verification is often “manifestly crude.” Can you blame them? Building a foolproof system is hard, expensive, and a huge friction point for user growth. Apple’s nudge might lead to slightly better mechanisms, but I doubt we’ll see anything truly robust until the fines start hitting. The real impetus will be financial pain, not a developer notification. This whole situation feels like a regulatory game of whack-a-mole. You ban under-16s, they’ll find a way on. You mandate better checks, they’ll find a way around. The core issue, as highlighted in broader discussions about online safety, might be less about keeping teens off platforms entirely and more about how those platforms are designed. But that’s a much harder problem to solve with a simple law and a developer toolkit.
