Australia has introduced groundbreaking legislation aimed at protecting minors from the potential harms of social media. Under the new laws, social media companies that fail to prevent Australians younger than 16 from using their services will face hefty fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars (US$32.5 million).
Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland presented the legislation to parliament on Thursday, emphasizing the government’s commitment to safeguarding the health and wellbeing of young Australians.
“This is about protecting young people, not punishing or isolating them, and letting parents know we’re in their corner when it comes to supporting their children’s health and wellbeing,” Rowland told parliament.
The legislation places the responsibility of enforcing the minimum age limit on social media companies rather than on children, parents, or guardians. Rowland highlighted that the new laws seek to establish a societal norm that “accessing social media is not the defining feature of growing up in Australia.”
Online gaming platforms and messaging services are exempt from the ban. Rowland explained that online gaming is already regulated by the age classification scheme, and including them would create unnecessary overlap. Messaging services, she noted, do not expose users to algorithmic content curation or psychological manipulation intended to encourage endless engagement.
“Further, the inclusion of messaging apps could have wider consequences, such as making communication within families harder,” she added.
The federal opposition has indicated support for the legislation, suggesting it is likely to pass both houses of parliament with a strong majority. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese previously stated that the new laws will take effect at least 12 months after passing parliament.
While the government has not specified how social media users’ ages will be verified, it mentioned that the process would be informed by a trial of age verification technology funded in the federal budget earlier this year.
The enforcement of the minimum age limit will be overseen by the office of the government’s eSafety Commissioner.
Reference(s):
Australia to penalize tech firms over social media ban for minors
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