French youth social media ban meets age check conundrum

France’s parliament is weighing a social media ban for under-15s, following in the footsteps of Australia and Indonesia, although enforcement authorities are facing a puzzle on how to manage age checks.

Here are the main methods available for now to check users are of age:

– Government ID –

The most obvious solution is providing a scan of a passport, driver’s license or other official identity document.

But the method has limits, including some teens using ID belonging to a friend or relative who is above the age threshold.