Source: The Epoch Times

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has introduced a social media ban for under 16s into the Australian Parliament, carrying fines of nearly $49.5 million (US$32.5 million) for social media corporations.

The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 (pdf) requires social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent Australian children under 16 from having accounts. Those that fail to do so will be fined, including Meta, TikTok, and X.

The penalties do not apply to individuals under 16 or their parents, carers or educators.

“The penalty amounts are intentionally large, which reflects the significance of the harms the Bill is intended to safeguard against,” the government states in an explanatory memorandum (pdf).

“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.

“Parents have legitimate concerns about the adverse effects of social media on children’s development, mental health and attention spans,” he said on Nov. 17.

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.

“For the under 16 social media ban to work, everyone will have to scan their face or use a Digital ID. Throw it in the bin,” he said on X.

Liberal Senator Alex Antic also said he had “real concerns” about how the enforcement of an age specific ban would work in practice.

“The only reliable methods that are likely to work are those which require social media accounts to be linked to either a government certified ID, digital ID, or biometric data,” he told the Senate on Nov. 19.

“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.”

Debate on the legislation was adjourned in the House of Representatives on Nov. 19 and will recommence in the next sitting.
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