SYDNEY — Software owned by Australia’s biggest banks is being tested as a way to comply with a teen social media ban, which begins in December, people involved in the process said, potentially involving the country’s financial sector in the world-first regulatory crackdown.

ConnectID is an identity verification tool owned by Australia’s top lenders, which confirms a person’s age from their bank account details. It is part of a package of software being pitched by Singapore-based age estimation provider k-ID, which uses facial estimation technology to pick a user’s age.

The pairing is already being tested by some social media companies in Australia, said k-ID, although it declined to say which. k-ID supplies age estimation for chatroom-focused platform Discord in Britain, which recently rolled out a lower-age restriction for adult content.

ConnectID confirmed the partnership with k-ID, adding that no clients had signed up yet for help with the social media ban.

The companies also want to sell their partnership to gaming platforms in Australia, which are not affected by the social media ban but face separate laws forcing tighter content moderation for younger users.

The tie-up could mean an unexpectedly central role for Australia’s banking sector in the rollout of a law that is being closely watched around the world as jurisdictions move to protect teenagers online.

ConnectID was one of dozens of age-assurance providers in a government-commissioned trial of the technology this year, but its partnership with k-ID and the fact that it is being tested by social media firms has not been reported before.

The Australian company links a website to a user’s bank account, which sends an anonymous signal confirming whether they are over a specified age. Most teenagers have a bank account, so could use ConnectID for an accurate reading if a facial estimation tool gets it wrong, the company said.

“It’s something we’ve been doing with major partners over the last couple of years across any ID,” said ConnectID managing director Andrew Black in an interview.

“Age assurance and social media is an interesting inflection point for that.”

The trial found age-guessing software generally could enforce the ban, but that the accuracy of selfie-based age estimation systems dipped around the cut-off of 16 years of age, according to a report published last month.

The government has said social media firms should offer progressively more accurate options for users to confirm their age. — Reuters

JAKARTA — Indonesia’s central bank delivered another surprise interest rate cut on Wednesday, its sixth cut since it kicked off an easing cycle in September last year, saying economic growth needed to be strengthened.

Bank Indonesia trimmed the benchmark 7-day reverse repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%, the lowest since late 2022. All 31 economists surveyed by Reuters had expected no change.

The bank also cut its overnight deposit facility rate by 50 basis points and its lending facility rate by 25 basis points to 3.75% and 5.50%, respectively.

Governor Perry Warjiyo reiterated at Wednesday’s press conference that BI would continue to assess the room for further cuts in an effort to lift economic growth. BI has had to balance the need to keep the rupiah currency stable and the need to support growth during the easing cycle.

BI has now cut its main interest rate by a total of 150 basis points since September last year.

Markets have been unsettled by two weeks of protests and unrest across many cities from late August and then last week’s abrupt sacking of respected finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

There have also been concerns about the central bank’s independence following a “News Story” deal that will see BI help fund state programmes. And parliament is discussing changes that could strengthen the requirement for BI to support growth and allow parliament to evaluate board members and recommend their removal to the president.

Southeast Asia’s largest economy grew 5.1% in the second quarter from a year earlier, the fastest pace in two years, but new finance minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has said there were signs of slowing in the third quarter.

Earlier this week the government unveiled a stimulus package worth nearly $1 billion for the fourth quarter, including food handouts and an infrastructure building programme that could create some jobs.

Purbaya last week criticised BI for keeping liquidity conditions too tight, and moved more than $12 billion of government funds from the central bank to commercial banks to be used for loans.

Warjiyo emphasised on Wednesday that the banking system has ample liquidity to support loan distribution and economic growth, and urged banks to lower their interest rates. — Reuters

HONG KONG — Hong Kong leader John Lee pledged on Wednesday to boost the city’s economy, improve livelihoods and cement its role as an international centre, unveiling measures including developing a gold trading market.

A former deputy head of police, Lee reaffirmed the city’s economic growth forecast of 2% to 3% for 2025 and highlighted Hong Kong’s role as a springboard for mainland China enterprises looking to expand abroad. It was the fourth policy address of his term.

Lee said his “ultimate objective” was to improve livelihoods, “with better housing for members of the public, higher income for workers, enhanced care for the elderly, and greater prospects for young people.”

Hong Kong’s small and open economy has felt the ripple effects of an economic slowdown in China and trade tensions between Beijing and Washington.

The policy address comes amid Beijing’s push to bolster flagging economic growth amid sluggish consumer demand and a years-long property crisis.

His presentation, which lasted nearly three hours, was thin on new major initiatives including housing but went into detail on government accountability and national security.

Lee said the government was “expediting the development of new growth areas” by building an international gold trading market, developing fintech and green and sustainable finance.

The city’s monetary authority, the HKMA, will encourage the banking sector, especially in mainland China, to establish regional headquarters in Hong Kong and expand into Southeast Asia and the Middle East, Lee said.

The government will also expand its aviation industry by providing recycling and trading services of high-value parts, as well as developing a sustainable aviation fuel industry chain.

The city will also attract more pharmaceutical companies to set up and conduct clinical trials and medical treatments for rare disease drugs, high-end cancer drugs and advanced therapy products.

GREATER INTEGRATION
Lee said the government would accelerate the development of the Northern Metropolis project, which aims to provide homes for around 2.5 million people and create a new business district near the border with the mainland.

Sandwiched between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the Northern Metropolis was a focus of former leader Carrie Lam in 2021 when she announced plans to develop the area into an innovation and technology hub.

The development will be a stone’s throw from the Greater Bay Area, a Chinese government scheme to link Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in the southern province of Guangdong.

Lee also said that as part of measures to build Hong Kong into a global education hub, the number of non-funded places for non-local students would be increased to 50% from 40% of local student places.

The government will also introduce licensing for eateries to permit customers to bring their dogs, with more than 240,000 households keeping 400,000 cats and dogs as pets, he said.

This presents “an enormous consumption market”, he said, adding that pet-friendly restaurants will create new business opportunities.

To boost births, Lee said taxpayers can claim a total of HK$260,000 in allowance for each child in the first two years following childbirth. — Reuters

TOKYO — Japan’s exports fell for a fourth straight month in August, government data showed on Wednesday, as elevated US tariffs took a deeper toll on the country’s automotive and other manufacturing sectors.

“Japanese automakers are still mostly absorbing the tariff costs by cutting export prices to maintain US sales volumes,” said Saisuke Sakai, chief Japan economist at Mizuho Research.

“But some of them, unable to withstand rising costs, have begun increasing prices to pass them on to consumers,” he said.

“Coupled with growing uncertainties over the US economy, the tariff impact on Japan’s exports and output is set to intensify towards the year-end.”

Total exports by value dropped 0.1% year-on-year in August, the data showed, less than a median market forecast for a 1.9% decrease and following a 2.6% fall in July.

Exports to the United States plunged 13.8% in August from a year earlier, representing the largest drop since February 2021, dragged down by a 28.4% fall in automobiles and 38.9% plunge in chipmaking equipment.

The volume of U.S.-bound shipments fell 12.0%, extending the 2.3% decline seen in July.

The export plunge helped halve the trade surplus with the U.S. to 324 billion yen ($2.21 billion), the smallest since January 2023.

Exports to China were down 0.5%, while those to Asia and the European Union rose, partially offseting the plunge in U.S.-bound exports.

Total imports dropped 5.2% in August from a year earlier, compared with market forecasts for a 4.2% increase, reflecting lower oil prices.

As a result, Japan ran a trade deficit of 242.5 billion yen ($1.66 billion) in August, compared with the forecast of a deficit of 513.6 billion yen.

Washington agreed on a baseline 15% tariff rate on nearly all Japanese imports in late July, down from the initial 27.5% on autos and a 25% duty threatened for most other goods, offering some relief to Japanese exporters.

But the impact remains significant, particularly for Japanese automakers and auto parts suppliers, as the levy is still multiple times higher than their previous 2.5% rate.

According to a poll by Japan Center for Economic Research, 37 economists surveyed predict the economy will shrink by an annualised 1.1% in the current quarter, reflecting weak overseas demand.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda has vowed to go slow in hiking rates due to uncertainty over the impact of US tariffs on Japan’s economy.

Economists are focused on how falling exports will affect corporate spending and wages. Japanese corporate spending on plant and equipment has so far shown no signs of abating, rising 7.6% in the April-June quarter from a year earlier. — Reuters

WASHINGTON — Questions and potential hurdles surround a framework agreement announced on Monday between the US and China that would switch short-video app TikTok to US-controlled ownership, including whether any deal will comply with a 2024 law.

USUS and Chinese officials announced the deal in principle in Madrid following trade talks, but did not give details or answer key questions such as whether China will agree to transfer ownership of the algorithm that makes the app so popular with 170 million Americans.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE ALGORITHM?
During previous negotiations, Chinese authorities expressed strong reluctance to allow the export of TikTok’s recommendation algorithm, widely seen as owner ByteDance’s most valuable asset and a key driver of the app’s global popularity.

In 2020, when the Trump administration first pushed for a sale of TikTok’s US business, China updated its export control rules to cover technologies such as recommendation algorithms, effectively giving the government a say over any transfer.

WILL CONGRESS NEED TO APPROVE THE DEAL?

Any agreement could require approval by the Republican-controlled Congress, which passed a law in 2024 requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a ban in the US, due to fears TikTok’s US user data could be accessed by the Chinese government and allow Beijing to spy on Americans or conduct influence operations through the app.

Since that law came into effect, US President Donald Trump has extended the deadline for its enforcement three times.

Some Democratic lawmakers argued Trump had no legal authority to extend the deadline and suggested a previous deal under consideration in April would not meet legal requirements.

Attorney General Pam Bondi sent letters to Apple, Google, and other companies in February that provide services or host TikTok, telling them the Justice Department was relinquishing any claims for potential violations of the law. They were made public in June.

A congressional aide told Reuters on Monday that lawmakers plan to scrutinize the latest deal when it is made public to see if it complies with the law.

WILL CHINA RETAIN ANY OWNERSHIP?
One issue is whether ByteDance will be fully divested from TikTok US after the deal.

Trump responded to a question in an Oval Office press conference on whether China will have stake in TikTok: “We haven’t decided that, but it looks to me and I’m speaking to President Xi on Friday for confirmation.”

Senate Intelligence Committee chair Tom Cotton in April said American investors who wanted to buy TikTok must cut all ties with China.

ByteDance’s current shareholders include American firms Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic and KKR.

If Congress rejects the latest agreement, Trump may have limited recourse. In January, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled the law, passed by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in Congress last year and signed by former Democratic President Joe Biden, did not violate the US Constitution’s First Amendment protection against government abridgment of free speech.

WHO WILL CONTROL TIKTOK AFTER DIVESTITURE?
Officials expect the final deal to be very similar to what was anticipated under the previous deal outlined in April, which would spin off TikTok’s US operations into a new US-based firm, majority-owned and operated by US investors. This stalled after China indicated it would withhold its approval following Trump’s announcements of steep tariffs on Chinese goods. The precise structure of the new expected ownership remains unclear. — Reuters