Latest news with #ACCS
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Age assurance trial stakeholders frozen out; Victorian Liberal leader's impromptu press conference; and Tarantino's favourite Tarantino
Good afternoon. The organisation behind the age assurance technology trial that will inform how to keep under-16s off social media has iced out key stakeholders after media leaks and resignations of two members. Iain Corby, the executive director of the Age Verification Providers Association, has also downplayed reporting about inaccuracies with the facial estimation technology – one of the technologies tested in the trial – arguing that it can still be used even if it is out by seven years. The trial, run by the UK-based Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS), tested out various types of technology that could be used by social media platforms and adult websites to keep out under-16s or under-18s, respectively, when Australia's ban comes into force in December. The project provided its final report to the communications minister, Anika Wells, at the start of August. However, the stakeholder advisory board for the trial – which comprises tech companies, child safety advocates, academics and privacy advocates – may not see the final report until Wells releases it publicly in the coming weeks. Victorian Liberal leader defends impromptu press conference at scene of fatal stabbing Israel revoking Australian diplomats' visas 'unjustified', Marles says Newborn baby found dead in Perth storm water drain placed there in recent days, police say Sally Rooney could be arrested under UK Terrorism Act after pledging royalties to Palestine Action Trump claims to have ended six wars – is that true? Soldier found guilty of attempted espionage in New Zealand's first spying conviction Will the Aukus nuclear submarine program allow Australia to maintain security in its surrounding ocean, or is it $368bn thrown away on submarines that may never arrive and only serve to increase tensions in the region? It depends on who you ask. Guardian Australia senior reporter Ben Doherty explains the many questions surrounding the trilateral agreement. Watch the video 'You'll always face a lot of challenges but those challenges are built on to your journey … take that risk, you won't regret it in the end.' – Rutendo Shadaya The 17-year-old from rural New Zealand, who turned a birthday present for her best friend into a series of children's fantasy books, has been recognised along with nine other girls as one of Time magazine's girls of the year for featuring strong female leads in her work, and for using her platform to lift up other budding writers. Labor goes looking for an economic legacy As Labor's much-hyped economic summit begins, the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, say they want to hear big ideas to bring about the reform Australians are hungry for. But does the government's talk match its political ambition? Reged Ahmad speaks to chief political correspondent Tom McIlroy about how Labor's economic roundtable will shape the future of Australia Sign up to Afternoon Update Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Listen to the episode here Sorry your browser does not support audio - but you can download here and listen $ Quentin Tarantino has weighed in on one of cinema's big questions: what is the best Tarantino movie? The director has named his 'masterpiece' film and the one he was 'born to make' – but he says his favourite is a different film entirely. Today's starter word is: FIG. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply. Enjoying the Afternoon Update? Then you'll love our Morning Mail newsletter. Sign up here to start the day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know, and complete your daily news roundup. And follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland.
The Guardian
6 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Key stakeholders in Australia's social media age assurance trial frozen out amid media leaks and resignations
The organisation behind the age assurance technology trial that will inform how to keep under-16s off social media has frozen out key stakeholders amid media leaks and resignations of two members. The trial's Iain Corby has also downplayed reporting about inaccuracies with the facial estimation technology – one of the technologies tested in the trial – arguing that it can still be used even if it is out by seven years. The $6.5m age assurance technology trial, run by the UK-based Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS), tested various types of technology that could be used by social media platforms and adult websites to keep out under-16s or under-18s, respectively, when Australia's under-16s social media ban comes into force in December. The project provided its final report to the communications minister, Anika Wells, at the start of August. The final report is expected to run to 10 volumes and 2,500 pages. However, the stakeholder advisory board for the trial – which comprises tech companies, child safety advocates, academics and privacy advocates – may not see the final report until Wells releases it publicly in the coming weeks. Two sources close to the board told Guardian Australia the board was not expected to be provided with a copy before then due to leak concerns. When the trial was announced, the project plan noted that transparency was key to ensuring public trust in the project. Sign up: AU Breaking News email 'The programme needs to be completed with transparency and ensuring the credibility and confidence of participants, the commissioning department and the Australian public,' the plan stated. Initially, detailed minutes for the stakeholder meetings were published online outlining disagreements and concerns raised by those involved. But the last several meeting minutes have not been posted, and that is expected to continue for the final meeting as the report is released. The group behind the trial did not publicise that the report had been handed to government, apart from a blog post on the trial's website. Two members of the advisory board have also quit. Guardian Australia confirmed that the Electronic Frontiers Australia chair, John Pane, resigned from the board last week, following another resignation reported earlier by Crikey. In a statement issued last week, Pane criticised the preliminary report findings from June – where the project team claimed that age assurance technology could be 'private, robust and effective' – as 'strong on hype and rhetoric, and difficult to reconcile with the evidence'. 'These political talking points seem to be a case of 'selling the sizzle and not the steak'– or perhaps even 'privacy washing',' Pane said. He argued that assessment of the privacy practices of some vendors amounted to checking if the vendor had a privacy policy, and was a 'tick-box compliance' exercise. Pane also said the trial organisers had not confirmed whether the vendors who participated in the trial will permanently de-identify all personal data collected from test subjects. Tim Levy, the managing director of children's safety technology company Qoria, resigned from the trial earlier this year. Levy said the voracity of the conclusions of the interim report were 'not going to match community expectations and I believe my team of 600 dedicated cybersafety professionals would not like us to be associated with such an unsafe report'. ACCS's chief executive, Tony Allen, said Pane's contribution and the work of the board was welcomed but he said all of the points raised 'have been addressed in the full report – and in some considerable depth'. 'It is partly because of those points that it is taking some time to prepare the report (and perhaps more so, the supporting materials) for publication.' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Allen said all data has been anonymised and the personally identifiable information deleted. He said the trial continues to engage with the board and is working for the next meeting. Allen said a gap in publication of meeting minutes was 'no conspiracy' but a 'factor of preparation for publication, which takes some time'. Corby, who is responsible for stakeholder engagement for the trial and is also the executive director of the Age Verification Providers Association, told a podcast published on the industry research and consultancy website Biometrics Update last month that people 'need to be patient and get the full 10 volumes [of the report] in the public domain, and then it will be a lot clearer what the trial has found'. He said the report will be a 'bible of data' that will be 'quoted around the world'. '[The report] is albeit done by Age Verification Certification Scheme, who are known in the sector, but with very close scrutiny from an advisory board and ethics panel, the government themselves in Australia, [and] Prof Toby Walsh providing independent review of the evaluation approach,' Corby said. 'So it's been done with a lot of discipline around its independence and validity.' In June, the ABC reported that tests of facial age estimation technology had estimated a 16-year-old being as old as 37. Corby dismissed this report, stating that errors in age estimation don't undermine the whole project of age assurance. 'You're always going to have what we call a buffer age, and that might be three years or it might need to be five. Or for one provider, it might be three, and for a provider with a poorer quality algorithm, it might be seven in order to achieve the same level of accuracy overall,' he said on the podcast. 'But that doesn't mean to say you have to give up on the social media minimum age bill in Australia because one particular category of technology doesn't give you an exact answer.' Corby told Crikey this week the trial would not comment until the final report is released.
India Today
20-06-2025
- Business
- India Today
Kids under 16 may soon face social media ban after Australia proves it has tech for age verification
Australia is preparing to become the first country in the world to enforce a nationwide ban on social media use for children under the age of 16. This bold move now appears increasingly likely after a major government-backed trial found that age verification technology can work both effectively and privately. The Age Assurance Technology Trial, involving over 1,000 school students and hundreds of adults, tested how well current tools could verify a user's age without over-collecting personal data. The trial was overseen by the UK-based nonprofit Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS), and the results are being seen as a key step towards making Australia's proposed legislation a no significant tech barrier to age assurance in Australia,' said Tony Allen, CEO of ACCS. Speaking at an online briefing, Allen acknowledged that no system is perfect, but emphasised that 'age assurance can be done in Australia privately, efficiently and effectively.'Although some tools may collect more data than necessary, Allen stressed the importance of balance. 'There's a risk some solutions over-collect data that won't even be used. That's something to watch.'Here is how the system will work At the heart of the proposed verification model is a layered approach. It begins with traditional ID-based checks using documents like passport or driver's licence. These are verified through independent systems, and platforms never directly access the estimation adds another layer: users can upload a selfie or short video that AI analyses to determine age. This method is quick and does not store biometric data. A third component – contextual inference – draws from behavioural patterns such as email type, language, and digital behaviour to further estimate a user's age. While not reliable alone, it helps strengthen the system when used with other these technologies aim to prevent children from easily bypassing checks while also respecting December 2025, platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and X will be required to take 'reasonable steps' to keep underage users off their services. If they fail, they could face penalties of up to A$49.5 million (which is about US $32 million) per platforms, including YouTube, WhatsApp and Google Classroom, are exempt for now. Australia's move is being closely monitored by other countries, including the UK, New Zealand, and members of the EU, all of which are exploring ways to regulate children's access to social media. The Australian government sees this trial as proof that privacy and child protection can go hand in hand. A spokesperson for the eSafety Commissioner's office reportedly called the findings 'a useful indication of the likely outcomes from the trial', and added that when deployed correctly, the technologies 'can be private, robust and effective.'Despite the positive trial results, there are still some caveats. Children may try to bypass age checks using VPNs, shared devices or borrowed credentials. It will now be up to social media platforms to detect and prevent these workarounds – a responsibility they've rarely shouldered at this scale In
The Guardian
20-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Trial reveals flaws in tech intended to enforce Australian social media ban for under-16s
Technology to check a person's age and ban under 16s from using social media is not 'guaranteed to be effective' and face-scanning tools have given incorrect results, concede the operators of a Australian government trial of the scheme. The tools being trialled – some involving artificial intelligence analysing voices and faces – would be improved through verification of identity documents or connection to digital wallets, those running the scheme have suggested. The trial also found 'concerning evidence' some technology providers were seeking to gather too much personal information. As 'preliminary findings' from the trial of systems meant to underpin the controversial children's social media ban were made public on Friday, the operators insisted age assurance can work and maintain personal privacy. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email The preliminary findings did not detail the types of technology trialled or any data about its results or accuracy. Guardian Australia reported in May the ACCS said it had only trialled facial age estimation technology at that stage. One of the experts involved with the trial admitted there were limitations, and that there will be incorrect results for both children and adults. 'The best-in-class reported accuracy of estimation, until this trial's figures are published, was within one year and one month of the real age on average – so you have to design your approach with that constraint in mind,' Iain Corby, the executive director of the Age Verification Providers Association, told Guardian Australia. Tony Allen, the project director, said most of the programs had an accuracy of 'plus or minus 18 months' regarding age – which he admitted was not 'foolproof' but would be helpful in lowering risk. The Albanese federal government's plan to ban under 16s from social media, rushed through parliament last year, will come into effect in December. The government trial of age assurance systems is critical to the scheme. The legislation does not explicitly say how platforms should enforce the law and the government is assessing more than 50 companies whose technologies could help verify that a user is over 16. The ABC reported on Thursday teenage children in the trial were identified by some of the software as being aged in their 20s and 30s, and that face-scanning technology was only 85% accurate in picking a user's age within an 18-month range. But Allen said the trial's final report would give more detailed data about its findings and the accuracy of the technology tested. The trial is being run by the Age Check Certification Scheme and testing partner KJR. It was due to present a report to government on the trial's progress in June but that has been delayed until the end of July. On Friday, the trial published a two-page summary of 'preliminary findings' and broad reflections before what it said would be a final report of 'hundreds of pages' to the new communications minister, Anika Wells. The summary said a 'plethora of options' were available, with 'careful, critical thinking by providers' on privacy and security concerns. It concluded that 'age assurance can be done in Australia'. The summary praised some approaches that it said handled personal data and privacy well. But it also found what it called 'concerning evidence' that some providers were seeking to collect too much data. 'Some providers were found to be building tools to enable regulators, law enforcement or coroners to retrace the actions taken by individuals to verify their age, which could lead to increased risk of privacy breaches due to unnecessary and disproportionate collection and retention of data,' it said. Sign up to Afternoon Update Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion In documents shared to schools taking part in the study, program operators said it would trial technologies including 'AI-powered technology such as facial analysis, voice analysis, or analysis of hand movements to estimate a person's age', among other methods such as checking forms of ID. Stakeholders have raised concerns about how children may circumvent the ban by fooling the facial recognition, or getting older siblings or parents to help them. Friday's preliminary findings said various schemes could fit different situations and there was no 'single ubiquitous solution that would suit all use cases' nor any one solution 'guaranteed to be effective in all deployments'. The report also said there were 'opportunities for technological improvement' in the systems trialled, including making it easier to use and lowering risk. This could include 'blind' verification of government documents, via services such as digital wallets. Corby said the trial must 'manage expectations' about effectiveness of age assurance, saying 'the goal should be to stop most underage users, most of the time'. 'You can turn up the effectiveness but that comes at a cost to the majority of adult users, who'd have to prove their age more regularly than they would tolerate,' he said. Corby said the trial was working on risks of children circumventing the systems and that providers were 'already well-placed' to address basic issues such as the use of VPNs and fooling the facial analysis.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alabama Community College System says it's concerned, prepared for federal funding cuts
The head of the Alabama Community College System speaks to board members at the system's monthly board meeting on June 11, 2025, at Snead State Community College in Boaz, Alabama. Jimmy Baker told board members that he is worried about budget cuts to federal student aid, but is prepared for a "soft landing."(Screenshot, ACCS YouTube) The head of the Alabama Community College System (ACCS) said Wednesday that he is concerned about potential cuts to federal financial aid, but also that the system has enough funds in reserve for a 'soft landing.' 'We see it as our mission to make sure that whatever happens at the federal level with the federal dollars, we can manage a soft landing, and we are in a position to do that,' ACCS Chancellor Jimmy Baker said at the monthly meeting of the ACCS Board of Trustees Wednesday morning. 'I don't like the idea that just because some legislation passes, we have to jump and threaten people with their jobs and those kinds of things.' President Donald Trump's budget proposal, passed in the U.S. House and currently awaiting action in the Senate, includes a 23% reduction to the federal Pell Grant and increasing credit hour eligibility from 12 to 15 hours. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Pell Grant is given to students based on their expected family contribution, among other academic factors, and often goes to students with 'exceptional financial need,' according to the Federal Student Aid Office. According to ACCS, its students receive an average of $4,300 in Pell Grants every year, about $500 less than the median ACCS yearly tuition. 'These would lead to some significant changes for our system, but we want our board to know that we are watching this closely, and we will see how this will play out,' Vice Chancellor of Student Success Neil Scott said. 'But we are already putting contingency plans in place for the areas that may impact our colleges.' Baker said he did not expect things to be 'pleasant.' 'It's not going to be easy. But I see the move with the federal dollars in education diminishing,' Baker said. 'So we have to adjust ourselves, and we can do a lot of that. We're going to do a lot of that because our ultimate mission is offering quality programs to the communities that we serve.' Despite threats to federal financial aid, Scott announced Wednesday that enrollment for the Fall 2025 semester is up 29.36% over Fall 2024, or 7,976 more students than last year. Scott said that brings the total enrollment to-date to 35,143 across the system's 24 colleges. 'And we still have a couple of colleges that haven't begun registration for the fall yet, but of the 22 colleges that do have fall registrations posted, 21 of those are showing a head count increase,' Scott said.
