On Wednesday, Apple unveiled new device-level age restrictions in the UK. After downloading a new update, users will now have to confirm that they are 18 or older to access unrestricted features.
Users will be able to confirm their age with a credit card or by scanning an ID.
For those underage or who have not confirmed their age, Apple will turn on Web Content Filter and Communication Safety, which will not only restrict access to certain apps or websites, but will also monitor messages, shared photo albums, AirDrop, and FaceTime calls for nudity.
Apple didn’t specify exactly which services and features are banned for under-18 users, but it will likely be in compliance with UK legislation. Gizmodo reached out to the Cupertino giant for comment, and we’ll update this post when we receive a reply.
The British government does not require Apple and other OS providers to institute device-level age checks, but it does restrict minor access to online pornography under the Online Safety Act, which passed in 2023. So far, that restriction has only been implemented at the website level, but UK officials have been worried about easy loopholes to evade the age restrictions, like VPNs.
The broader tech industry has been campaigning for some time to use device-level age checks instead in response to the rising tide of under-16 social media and internet bans around the world.
Last month, in a landmark social media trial in California, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also supported this idea, saying that conducting age verification “at the level of the phone is just a lot clearer than having every single app out there have to do this separately.”
Pornhub-operator Aylo had advocated for device-level restrictions in the UK as well, and even sent out letters to Apple, Google, and Microsoft in November asking for OS-level age verification. At the time, British authorities had responded to Aylo, saying that OS-level restrictions would have to be industry-led, as nothing was stopping these tech companies from implementing the method and showing evidence of its effectiveness.
The most obvious question: Could this be brought stateside?
Many states have already passed legislation restricting the activity of minors on the internet. Apple began working with Texas authorities late last year on the state’s new age restrictions that have since drawn legal backlash. Last month, the company announced that new users in Utah and Louisiana will have their age categories shared with the App Store starting this summer, to ensure compliance with the new age restriction laws in the states.
The regulatory momentum is only growing in the United States, and states are increasingly seeking device-level restrictions. California passed its Digital Age Assurance Act last year, and the law would require users to enter their date of birth when setting up a new phone or computer to ensure OS-level restrictions when it goes into effect next year.
Colorado is also seeking to follow in California’s footsteps. Earlier this year, state legislators introduced a device-level age restriction bill modeled after California’s.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Chromium_One on Saturday April 04, @09:52PM
Well my time of avoiding Apple certainly seems to be coming to a middle.
When you live in a sick society, everything you do is wrong.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DadaDoofy on Sunday April 05, @03:44PM (3 children)
Funny how the same very people who will do anything and everything possible to prevent a photo ID being required to vote in an election have no problem requiring a photo ID to use your own phone.
(Score: 4, Informative) by mcgrew on Sunday April 05, @05:57PM (2 children)
The proposed act doesn't require an ID, it's a POLL TAX. Not everybody has their birth certificate and less than half of Americans have passports. A driver's license won't do, and the mark on an existing ID has a fee. Requiring anyone to spend money in order to vote is a poll tax, and they have been illegal since almost forever.
VERY dishonest of you and your party. But the rich and their bought and paid for party are seldom honest or patriotic.
I sincerely hope you are incredibly wealthy, because otherwise you have a serious problem with logic and reason. The Republican party ain't your grandpa's Republican party, they are wholly for the 1% and the working person can go to hell as far as they're concerned. Wake up, son. This ain't 1968.
Are the Republicans really in favor of genocide, or are they just cowards terrified of terrorist twit Trump?
(Score: 1) by loki on Monday April 06, @09:06PM (1 child)
Here in Australia, photo ID is required for voting.
Voting is also compulsory for everyone enrolled to vote.
Australia enjoys a stable and long-lived democracy.
(Score: 3, Informative) by lentilla on Tuesday April 07, @12:20AM
Photo Identification is not required to vote in Australia.
The usual process is an Australian citizen coming up to their 18th birthday will enrol [aec.gov.au] to vote. You'll need some kind [aec.gov.au] of identification, but if you don't have that all you need is another voter to identify you!
On voting day you turn up and join the queue. When you get to the front you'll be asked three questions [aec.gov.au]: Name? Address? Have you voted before in this election? Then you get handed the appropriate ballot paper, which you fill out and drop in the box on your way out.
Voting is so remarkably easy in Australia. Yes, it's compulsory. Voting always occurs on a Saturday and usually has a carnival atmosphere. You go vote, say g'day to a bunch of people and grab a "democracy sausage" (a snag on a piece of white bread topped with your choice of sauce) on your way home. Polling places are all over the place and the whole process never takes more than thirty minutes, usually less than ten.
Polls close at 6pm [aec.gov.au] and we usually know the (rough) result that same evening.
No computers (just pencils and paper), no photo ID, no aggression, no worries. It just works.
(Score: 1) by Runaway1956 on Monday April 06, @03:46PM (1 child)
Let us all thank God that it is not possible for a minor to acquire a fake ID, right? And, it sure as hell isn't possible for a kid to "borrow" a parent's ID while Mom and Dad are sleeping. Apple has this covered, right?
We're gonna be able to vacation in Gaza, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and maybe Minnesota soon. Incredible times.
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