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How Australia’s teen social media ban tech trial was derailed by expert turmoil and secrecy


Expert participants had high expectations for the government’s $6.5 million Age Assurance Technology trial. Now, some have quit their advisory roles and others are questioning how seriously to take its results.

When the tender was awarded last year, the federal government promoted its $6.5 million Age Assurance Technology Trial in media releases and press conferences as crucial to “determining the most effective way to protect young people online”. Data on how technologies like facial analysis and ID verification, as well as more granular information about how various providers performed on internal testing, wouldn’t be shared until the report was published later in the year. “You can expect EFA to utilise its knowledge gained from the Age Assurance Technology Trial to counter any spin or hyperbole coming from the government on the efficacy success of this flawed initiative,” Pane said, according to a media release.

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