中文导读

一条禁令要真正生效，先得回答一个看似简单的问题：屏幕另一端的人到底几岁？文章先介绍英国即将实施的 16 岁以下社交媒体禁令，再解释为什么核查“是否满 16 岁”比核查“是否满 18 岁”更难。接着介绍监管机构 Ofcom 推荐的四种方法——照片证件比对、银行信息、数字身份服务和人脸年龄估计，并逐一说明它们的局限，例如人脸估计可能差上几岁，因此需要像超市卖酒那样设置“挑战年龄”。最后，文章谈到成年人也会受影响、科技公司对“由应用商店统一核查”的主张，以及澳大利亚类似禁令留下的经验。阅读时可留意 because、so、however 等词如何连接原因与结果，以及 may、expected、admits 等词如何区分已确定的事实和尚待决定的安排。

正文

From March next year, children under 16 in the UK will not be allowed to use ten of the biggest social media platforms, including Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat. A ban like this only works if companies can tell who is old enough. On October 29, the media regulator Ofcom explained how it thinks that could be done.

本段译文

从明年 3 月起，英国 16 岁以下的儿童将不能使用十个最大的社交媒体平台，包括 Instagram、TikTok 和 Snapchat。这样的禁令只有在公司能够分辨谁已达到年龄时才能发挥作用。10 月 29 日，媒体监管机构 Ofcom 说明了它认为可以如何做到这一点。

The task is harder than it sounds. Checking whether someone is 18 is fairly simple, because adults often have credit cards or full driving licences. Many 16- and 17-year-olds have neither, and some do not have a passport. Teenagers can also look much older or younger than they really are.

本段译文

这项任务比听起来更难。核查一个人是否年满 18 岁相对简单，因为成年人通常有信用卡或正式驾照。许多 16、17 岁的青少年两者都没有，有些人也没有护照。青少年看起来也可能比实际年龄大得多或小得多。

Ofcom named four methods that it says can be “highly effective“ at age 16. The first compares a photo ID, such as a passport, with a live picture taken during the check. The second uses the age that a bank already has on record, with the user’s permission. The third is a digital ID service, which lets people prove their age online after checking their ID once. The fourth is face age estimation, in which software studies a person’s face and guesses their age.

本段译文

Ofcom 列出了四种它认为在 16 岁这一年龄线上可以“非常有效”的方法。第一种是把护照等带照片的证件与核查时现场拍摄的照片进行比对。第二种是在用户同意的情况下，使用银行已有记录中的年龄。第三种是数字身份服务，人们核验一次证件后，就可以在网上证明自己的年龄。第四种是人脸年龄估计，即由软件分析一个人的面部并推测其年龄。

Each method has limits. Face estimation can be wrong by a few years at 16, so Ofcom suggests a “challenge age” approach, like shops that ask anyone who looks under 25 to show ID before buying alcohol. People close to the age limit would then need a second check. Because photo ID plays a part in most methods, Ofcom estimates that around 150,000 16- and 17-year-olds without a passport or driving licence may need to get one. About 90% of them have a bank account, however.

本段译文

每种方法都有局限。在 16 岁附近，人脸估计可能相差几岁，因此 Ofcom 建议采用“挑战年龄”的做法，就像商店要求看起来不到 25 岁的人在买酒前出示证件一样。接近年龄线的人随后需要进行第二次核查。由于大多数方法都要用到带照片的证件，Ofcom 估计，大约 15 万名没有护照或驾照的 16、17 岁青少年可能需要办理证件。不过，他们中约 90% 拥有银行账户。

Adults will be affected too. Some will not need a check if a platform already has reliable information about their age, but Ofcom admits that a “large number of accounts“ may have to be checked. Companies such as Meta would prefer checks inside app stores run by Apple and Google, so people do not have to prove their age again and again. Ofcom says social media firms must still do their own checks.

本段译文

成年人也会受到影响。如果平台已经掌握关于其年龄的可靠信息，有些人将不需要核查，但 Ofcom 承认，可能有“大量账户”需要核查。Meta 等公司更希望在苹果和谷歌运营的应用商店中进行核查，这样人们就不必一次又一次地证明自己的年龄。Ofcom 表示，社交媒体公司仍然必须自己进行核查。

The regulator also accepts that no system is perfect. A similar ban began in Australia last year, and many children there have found ways around it. Child safety groups welcomed the advice but said Britain should learn from that experience. The government is expected to decide how the ban will work by the end of the year.

本段译文

这家监管机构也承认，没有哪个系统是完美的。澳大利亚去年开始实施类似禁令，那里的许多孩子已经找到了绕过它的办法。儿童安全组织对这些建议表示欢迎，但表示英国应从那段经历中吸取教训。预计政府将在年底前决定这项禁令的具体实施方式。

新闻来源

• BBC News · Ofcom outlines age check methods ahead of social media ban for under-16s (29 Oct 2026)
• Ofcom · How age checks at age 16 can work to underpin UK’s social media ban (29 Oct 2026)

✳更多文章 →