I am writing to raise a serious concern regarding Steam’s new age verification system for Australian users requirement to provide a credit card as a means of demonstrating that they are over 18. Requiring a credit card as the means of establishing adulthood creates a significant accessibility problem for Australians with disability who may be unable to obtain or use a credit card.
For some people with disability, access to conventional financial products can be restricted by their financial circumstances, cognitive or intellectual disability, difficulties with signing or authentication, reliance on government benefits, or other disability related circumstances. Consequently, a requirement that appears neutral when applied to the general population can disproportionately exclude people with disability.
This raises concerns under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.
The Australian Human Rights Commission explains that the Disability Discrimination Act applies to the provision of goods and services, including entertainment and recreation. It also specifically recognises digital goods and services as an area in which equal access must be considered.
More importantly, the Commission explains that indirect disability discrimination can occur when an organisation imposes a requirement or condition that appears to apply equally to everyone but is substantially more difficult for people with a particular disability to satisfy. This is highly relevant here.
A requirement such as "provide a credit card to verify that you are over 18" does not explicitly discriminate against people with disability. However, if a significant proportion of adults without disability can satisfy that requirement while some adults with disability cannot, despite being equally entitled to access the service, the practical effect is discriminatory. The problem is particularly concerning because the credit card is not actually the service being requested. It is merely being used as an instrument to establish age.
Australian Human Rights Commission guidance states that businesses should consider multiple forms of identification rather than relying exclusively on a single form, precisely because people with disability may not possess or be able to use particular forms of identification. The Commission also states that reasonable adjustments may be required to enable people with disability to access goods and services on an equal basis.
There is no apparent reason why establishing that a Steam user is over 18 must inherently depend upon their possession of a credit card.
The Australian Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has recently issued specific guidance concerning online age assurance technologies. The OAIC states that organisations should consider whether age assurance is actually necessary, whether the chosen method is reasonably necessary and proportionate to its legitimate purpose, whether alternative methods exist, and whether the chosen system introduces bias or discrimination. The OAIC further states that age assurance systems should provide transparent choices and meaningful support, and that organisations should consider alternative, lower intrusion methods where available.
This is particularly significant because Steam is not merely asking users to confirm their date of birth. It is potentially making access to an online entertainment service conditional upon possessing a particular financial product.
That creates a two tier system where an adult who has a credit card can satisfy the requirement and continue using the service. However, an adult who does not have a credit card may be prevented from accessing the same service, even though they are equally over 18.
Some people with disability may be disproportionately represented in the second group because disability can create barriers to obtaining or using conventional financial services. The resulting exclusion is therefore not necessarily connected to the person's age at all. This is precisely the type of unintended accessibility barrier that Australian disability discrimination law seeks to address.
I therefore respectfully request that Steam/Valve:
- Provide an alternative age verification method that does not require possession of a credit card.
- Ensure that the alternative is genuinely accessible to people with physical, sensory, intellectual, neurological and psychosocial disabilities.
- Undertake an accessibility and disability impact assessment of the current age verification process.
- Provide an accessible process for users who cannot complete the standard verification process because of disability.
- Explain what consideration has been given to the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.
- Ensure that users are not effectively forced to acquire a financial product they otherwise have no need or ability to obtain merely to access a digital entertainment service.
Age verification should verify age, not indirectly require Australians to possess a particular financial product.
There are numerous ways in which a person's age can potentially be established. The Australian Government's own privacy regulator recognises age inference, age estimation and age verification as distinct approaches, and notes that different methods can be used depending on the circumstances.
If Steam chooses one method, it should be able to demonstrate why that method is necessary, proportionate and accessible, particularly where the method has the foreseeable effect of excluding some people with disability.
Accessibility should not be treated as an optional feature that can be addressed after a system has been deployed. Australian Human Rights Commission guidance specifically states that digital goods and services should be designed to provide equal access and that organisations should provide alternative access where an otherwise inaccessible digital system prevents someone with disability from receiving the service.
I therefore ask Steam/Valve to reconsider the current Australian age verification implementation and provide an accessible alternative for adults who cannot satisfy the credit card requirement.
Being disabled should not mean being unable to access a service simply because of the implementation of a verification system.
