Adults Only: Online Codes to Restrict Access to Pornography and Games

Australians trying to access pornographic websites and some online games will be subject to age checks under online safety proposals that could come into force in 2025.

A draft internet safety code designed to protect children from explicit material could mean messaging services automatically detect and blur nude images and dating services explicitly ban attempts at sexual extortion.

Five organizations representing industries such as social media and search engines unveiled the security measures on Tuesday and will collect public feedback before presenting them to the eSafety Commissioner.

But it remained unclear how the age assurance technology would work in Australia, with the federal government yet to release results from trials of the $6.5 million technology.

The safety proposals come four months after the eSafety Commissioner issued notices to digital companies about compliance with the Online Safety Act, which requires companies to protect children from Class 1C and Class 2 material.

This content includes pornography, simulated computer game gambling and “high impact material” depicting nudity, violence, drug use, crime, suicide, racism or marital discord that would otherwise be classified as R18+, X18+ or RC.

The codes would require tools to allow users to block pornographic images sent to them, as well as ways to report violations and provisions prohibiting sexual solicitation, grooming and the sharing of intimate images without consent.

Under the measures, Australians will be forced to use ageing technology to access “high-value pornography” and play games that use “simulated gambling material”.

But what that age-assuring technology looks like will depend on the results of government trials of the technology, said Jennifer Duxbury, director of regulatory affairs policy at Digital Industry Group.

“We don’t know exactly when this will end, but we have been told that we should take the results of this trial into account or that the trial will inform how the measures will be implemented,” Dr Duxbury told AAP.

“We have decided to leave the door open as to how providers will comply with age compliance requirements.”

In September, the government launched a tender to trial age assurance technology and will try to assess how effective current technology is at assessing the age of an internet user and whether they are over 18 or between 13 and 16 years old.

The five groups behind the draft online safety codes, including the Communications Alliance and the Australian Mobile Communications Association, will seek public feedback on the proposed changes until November 22.

The final codes will be submitted to the eSafety Commission in December and, if implemented in their current form, Dr Duxbury said, they could significantly change what children see online.

“These (measures) will really improve the current situation because they apply to everyone – it’s not just service providers who decide to implement child protection measures, these codes apply to everyone,” she said.

“Electronic safety has a very strong enforcement mandate, they are very well resourced as a regulator, so I think that will make a difference.”

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