AustraliaApp Distribution Services Online Safety Code (Class 1C and Class 2 Material)
App Distribution Services Online Safety Code (Class 1C and Class 2 Material) registered under section 140 of the Online Safety Act 2021 (Cth)
In force since .
An app store age verification (AV) rule binding private bodies.
- Audit expectation
- on_request
- Who audits it
- Self
- Where the report goes
- Produced on request
What it requires
- Applies to app store and app distribution platform operators, such as the Apple App Store and Google Play, rather than to app developers directly.
- If you operate an app store, take reasonable steps, including age assurance and access controls, before permitting the download or purchase of an app containing Class 1C or Class 2 material such as pornography; the age assurance measure is required by about .
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text.
If you get it wrong
Penalties
A direction to comply with the code that is not followed is enforceable through civil penalty proceedings under the Online Safety Act 2021.
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
eSafety Commissioner
Settledness
- As of
- Open questions
- What level of risk counts as 'low' under sub-measure c) of compliance measure 1 of the App Distribution Services Online Safety Code, which lets a provider skip age assurance when its own risk assessment finds that adult apps will be downloaded or purchased by Australian children only at low risk?
What it reaches
Age threshold
18
Covered services
App distribution platforms, chiefly the Apple App Store and Google Play, for apps containing online pornography or other Class 1C or Class 2 material.
How the hook was established
express
What makes it apply
User location
Verification methods
Gov ID, Facial estimation, Third party service
What it makes you log
Who may demand the log
Regulator
What the log must hold
Decision basis
Logging duty
A provider that relies on the risk assessment exception in compliance measure 1(c)(ii) to the age assurance requirement must record in writing the detail of the assessment as soon as practicable after completing it. The Code requires no record of any individual age check and states no period for keeping the written record.
- Kind
- Explicit
- As of
- Provision
- App Distribution Services Online Safety Code (Class 1C and Class 2 Material), compliance measure 1(e)(iv)
- Trigger
- age_assurance
What this law does
Requires app store and app distribution platform operators, such as the Apple App Store and Google Play, to take reasonable steps, including age assurance and access controls, before permitting the download or purchase of an app containing Class 1C or Class 2 material such as pornography. Registered by the eSafety Commissioner on , with the age assurance measure required within 6 months of commencement, by about .
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app operates an app store.
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Page updated .