Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has introduced a proposed social media ban for under 16s into the Australian Parliament, carrying fines of $49.5 million (US$32.5 million) for social media corporations.
The penalties do not apply to individuals under 16 or their parents, carers or educators.
“It will also strongly signal the expectation that age-restricted social media platforms treat the minimum age obligation seriously.”
The legislation requires social media platforms to verify the age of users.
“The onus is on platforms to introduce systems and processes that can be demonstrated to ensure that people under the minimum age cannot create and hold a social media account,” the government’s explanatory memorandum states.
“It is not the intention that the bill would punish a platform for individual instances where young people circumvent any reasonably appropriate measures put in place by the platform—however, a systemic failure to take action to limit such circumventions could give rise to a breach.”
Speaking in Parliament, Rowland said the bill will protect young Australians at a critical stage of their development.
“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,” she said.
“We will work constructively with stakeholders to ensure that only services that meet the strict criteria under eSafety’s powers are able to be accessed by children under 16 years.”
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has voiced strong support for the government’s social media ban.
How Will Social Media Platforms Implement the Ban?
Social media platforms will be required to identify the age of account holders, with the method up to their discretion.“The Bill does not dictate how platforms must comply with the minimum age obligation,” the explanatory memorandum states.
“However, it is expected that at a minimum, the obligation will require platforms to implement some form of age assurance as a means of identifying whether a prospective or existing account holder is an Australian child under the age of 16 years.”
One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts speculated on Nov. 21 that the ban could require Australians to use a digital ID to verify age in the future.
Liberal Senator Alex Antic also said he had “real concerns” about how the enforcement of an age specific ban would work in practice.
“Now immediately we’ve gone from talking about a law protecting children under 16 from online harm to proposals potentially requiring all Australians to submit personal identification as a condition of using social media.
“This is how concerns over safety, in this case, children’s safety, convince people to hand over their freedom, to hand over their personal information.”
