The Canberra Times, known as one of Australia’s biggest news sources, has revealed some documents that are on the agenda of the country. These documents contained information about a new application that the Australian government is working on. According to this practice, when Australians want to watch porn, they will first have to show their face to the website’s firewall and prove that they are of legal age. According to some, the practice in question needs to be spread globally.
In fact, the eSafety Commission Office in Australia and the Digital Transformation Agency have been working on age verification technologies in the country for some time now. The system, which is currently only used for online betting and online alcohol purchases, prevents underage Australians from using these services. According to the news of The Canberra Times, the government thinks that the application in question should also be tested on porn sites. Adoption of similar systems by other countries could completely change the possibilities of accessing porn sites.
Age verification with facial recognition on porn sites considered a breach of ‘privacy’
In some statements about the news that divided the public into two, it is argued that it is not known how reliable face verification is at the computer. Actually, this approach is correct. Because previous research has revealed that existing facial recognition systems are more inefficient in women and people with dark skin tones. So a little makeover or different techniques can escape this verification. In addition, VPN technology bypasses this system. While the system in question already has some shortcomings, some Australians strongly oppose the practice, stating that they do not want their face data to be monitored by the state. For some Australians, however, such verification could intimidate children, thereby avoiding porn sites. There are even those who argue that such technologies should be spread around the world.
Government argues leaked documents were misinterpreted
The Australian government also made statements on the subject. In particular, in the statements made by the e-Security Commission Office, it was stated that only a very broad roadmap is included in the documents in question, and that it does not mean that everything contained in the documents will be implemented. Underlining that there is no definite situation regarding the application in question, the authorities announced that the documents are advisory. It is already a matter of curiosity how the Australian government’s thoughts will react to the international community.
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