Social media giants on Friday criticized a landmark Australian law banning under-16s from signing up, calling it a rush job filled with “many unanswered questions”.
UN children’s charity UNICEF Australia also joined the fight, warning that the law is no “silver bullet” against online harm and could push children into “secret and unregulated” spaces online.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that the law could not be fully enforced – like existing age restrictions on alcohol – but that it was “the right thing to do”.
The crackdown on sites like Facebook, Instagram and X, which was approved by Parliament late on Thursday, would lead to “better outcomes and less harm for young Australians”, he told reporters.
The Prime Minister said it was the “social responsibility” of platforms to make the safety of children a priority.
“We’ve got your support, that’s our message to Australian parents.”
Social media companies that fail to comply with the law could face fines of up to AUD 50 million (US$32.5 million).
TikTok said on Friday it was “disappointed” in the legal issue and accused the government of ignoring mental health, online safety and young experts protesting the ban.
A TikTok spokesperson said, “It’s very likely that the ban will drive young people into the dark corners of the internet, where no community guidelines, safety tools or protections exist.”
‘Unanswered Questions’
Tech companies said that despite the law’s perceived shortcomings, they will work with the government to determine how it can be implemented over the next 12 months.
The law provides almost no details on how the rules will be implemented – raising concerns among experts that it will be merely a symbolic, unenforceable piece of legislation.
Meta – owner of Facebook and Instagram – called for a consultation on the rules to “ensure a technically feasible outcome that does not impose a heavy burden on parents and teenagers”.
But the company said it was “concerned about a process that hastily passed the law while failing to properly consider the evidence the industry already has to ensure age-appropriate experiences and the voices of young people.” What are you doing for this?
A Snapchat spokesperson said the company had “serious concerns” about the law and that “many unanswered questions” remained about how it would work.
But the company said it would work with the government to develop an approach that balances “privacy, security and practicality.”
“As always, Snap will comply with all applicable laws and regulations in Australia,” it said.
UNICEF Australia policy lead Katie Maskiel said young people needed to be kept safe online, but they also needed to be included in the digital world.
“This restriction risks pushing children into increasingly secretive and unregulated online spaces, as well as preventing them from accessing aspects of the online world that are essential to their well-being,” he said.
global attention
One of the biggest issues will be privacy – how age-verification information is used, how it is collected and by whom.
Social media companies are adamant that age-verification should be the job of app stores, but the government believes the tech platforms should be responsible.
Some companies like WhatsApp and YouTube, which teens may use for entertainment, school work or other reasons, are likely to be exempt.
This law will be closely watched by other countries, and many will consider whether to enact similar restrictions.
Lawmakers from Spain to Florida have proposed banning social media for young teens, though no measures have yet been implemented.
China has restricted access for minors since 2021, with people under 14 not allowed to spend more than 40 minutes a day on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.
Online gaming time for children is also limited in China.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
