# Brickbat: Show Us Your Digital ID

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/brickbat-show-us-your-digital-id/
- Published: 2026-11-09T09:00:12+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-09T09:39:57+00:00
- Original publisher: Reason (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://reason.com/2026/11/09/brickbat-show-us-your-digital-id/
- Topics: Politics

## Key points

- Ofcom says platforms may need photo ID checks to enforce the under-16 social media ban.
- Around 150,000 16- and 17-year-olds lack a passport or driving licence.
- Age checks raise privacy and access concerns, and may be bypassed.

## Summary

Ofcom says social media companies may need to check users’ photo ID to enforce the UK Government’s planned ban on social media for under-16s, expected to begin next year. Supporters say stronger checks could protect children from harmful content, while critics question the effects on privacy, access and enforceability.

Possible checks include comparing passports or driving licences with live images, or estimating age using facial recognition. About 150,000 British 16- and 17-year-olds have neither a passport nor a driving licence, and facial estimates can be several years out, potentially prompting extra checks. Ofcom also accepts that some children may bypass restrictions, as many reportedly did under Australia’s similar ban.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.