Ofcom names four age checks that could enforce the under-16 social media ban

Four types of age check are currently capable of reliably confirming that a social media user is at least 16, Ofcom said on Thursday in an assessment published to inform Parliament ahead of the government's rules for its under-16 ban.

The government announced in June that under-16s would be barred from social media platforms, using secondary legislation under the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act rather than a new Act. It said platforms would have to use "highly effective age assurance", a stricter standard than the "reasonable steps" test used in Australia, and that Ofcom would carry out a rapid study of how that could work at 16.

The four methods

Photo ID matching. A passport or driving licence is checked and its photo compared with a live image of the user. Ofcom puts the share of people aged 16 and over in the UK who hold one of the two at an estimated 94%, citing Electoral Commission research. It says evidence from CitizenCard suggests around 150,000 16 and 17-year-olds have neither.

Bank-based checks. With the user's consent, a bank or other financial institution confirms the age it holds on record. Ofcom says around 90% of UK 16 and 17-year-olds held a bank account, based on a 2022 survey by the Money and Pensions Service.

Digital ID. The user proves their identity once with photo ID, then reuses the digital ID rather than uploading documents again.

Facial age estimation. Software estimates age from facial features. Because some systems can be a few years out at 16, Ofcom says services should set a higher "challenge age" and ask anyone who falls below it for a second check, in the same way shops apply Challenge 25 to alcohol sales.

Ofcom notes that the choice at 16 is narrower than at 18, because some of the methods it accepts at 18 are open only to adults. The 150,000 estimate is drawn from a survey of 8,459 16 and 17-year-olds in schools, which Ofcom describes as a non-representative sample.

Teenagers without photo ID

Since photo ID is either part of the check or the likely fallback when facial estimation is unsure, Ofcom expects that some 16 and 17-year-olds will need to get one. It lists passports, provisional driving licences and PASS-accredited proof of age cards, and says some PASS cards are available free to this age group.

Adults who already have accounts may not need checking if a platform holds accurate information about their age. Ofcom also concludes that the methods can be run in a way that protects privacy and complies with data protection law, and says it will work with the Information Commission on that.

Systems that guess age from how someone behaves online cannot act as the gate on their own, the regulator says, although they could help spot under-16s who have got past a check. It accepts that some children will get round the rules and plans to publish research on circumvention within 12 months of the ban starting.

App stores

A separate Ofcom report published the same day found that three quarters of children who use the internet said apps from an app store were their main way of going online. Every app store it examined relied on children stating their own age, with only a few adding further checks in limited cases. App stores are not covered by the Online Safety Act, and Ofcom says the government would have to weigh technical and compliance questions before bringing them in.

The government intends to publish the first set of regulations by the end of 2026. Once they are laid, Ofcom will consult on draft guidance for platforms, which it says it is already preparing.