Just as Australians are adjusting to the idea of having their ages checked for social media, age assurance rules are being applied to search engines and many other corners of the internet.

Australians will soon be subjected to mandatory age checks across the internet landscape, in what has been described as a huge and unprecedented change.

Search engines are next in line for the same controversial age-assurance technology behind the teen social media ban, and other parts of the internet are likely to follow suit.

At the end of June, Australia quietly introduced rules forcing companies such as Google and Microsoft to check the ages of logged-in users, in an effort to limit children’s access to harmful content such as pornography.

But experts have warned the move could compromise Australians’ privacy online and may not do much to protect young people.

  • Pappabosley@lemmy.world
    3·
    2 days ago

    The great firewall of Australia. Albanese must be getting some good tips from Xi. Noted also that the tech companies basically wrote the legislation and it’s just letting them hoover up more personal data

  • SpicyLizards@reddthat.com
    23·
    3 days ago

    It’s literally another authoritarian step. They take what few inferred freedoms exist and slowly erode them - as they have since that bastard howard. It’s already gone far too far.

  • Hamartiogonic@sopuli.xyz
    27·
    3 days ago

    Kids are smart. They’ll figure out SearXNG or Qwant faster than you can watch the vertical video that taught them the tricks.

    • FundMECFS@quokk.auEnglish
      9·
      2 days ago

      Honestly it’s kind of cool because these sort of restrictions are exactly what might give us a more privacy and techy new generation.

  • onlinepersona@programming.dev
    14·
    3 days ago

    Beyond concerns about the accuracy of age-assurance technology and the VPN workaround, the new search engine rules will still allow users to access adult content simply by not logging in.