Social media ban for children under 16 in Australia will become law: NPR

MELBOURNE, Australia – A ban on social media use for children under 16s was passed by the Australian Senate on Thursday and will soon become the world’s first law.

The law will impose fines of as much as A$50 million ($33 million) on platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram for systemic failures that prevent children under 16 from having accounts.

The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 34 to 19. The House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved laws by 102 votes to 13.

The House has not yet approved the opposition’s amendments submitted by the Senate. However, this can be a formality because the federal government has already agreed that they will be adopted.

Platforms will have one yr to search out a option to implement the ban before penalties are imposed.

The changes strengthen privacy protection. Platforms couldn’t force users to supply government-issued identification, including passports or driver’s licenses, nor could they request digital identification through a government system.

The Sejm is to adopt the amendments on Friday. Critics of the laws fear that banning young children from using social media will impact the privacy of users, who must prove they’re over 16.

While major parties support the ban, many child welfare and mental health advocates are concerned concerning the unintended consequences.

Senator David Shoebridge of the minority Green Party said mental health experts agreed the ban could dangerously isolate many children who use social media to search out support.

“This policy will most harm vulnerable young people, particularly in regional communities, and particularly the LGBTQI community, by cutting them off,” Shoebridge told the Senate.

Opposition senator Maria Kovacic said the bill was not radical, but crucial.

“The essential purpose of this legislation is simple: It requires social media companies to take reasonable steps to identify and remove underage users from their platforms,” Kovacic told the Senate.

“This is a responsibility these companies should have fulfilled long ago, but for too long they have shirked those responsibilities in favor of profit,” she added.

Internet safety campaigner Sonya Ryan, whose 15-year-old daughter Carly was murdered by a 50-year-old pedophile posing because the teenager online, described the Senate vote as “a monumental moment in protecting our children from terrible harm online.” “

“It is too late for my daughter Carly and the many other children who have suffered terribly and lost their lives in Australia, but let us stand together on their behalf and make this decision together,” she told the AP in an email.

Wayne Holdsworth, whose teenage son Mac took his own life after falling victim to an online sextortion scam, advocated for the age limit and was proud of its introduction.

“I have always been a proud Australian, but after today’s Senate decision I am bursting with pride,” Holdsworth told the AP in an email.

Christopher Stone, executive director of Suicide Prevention Australia, the suicide prevention industry’s governing body, said the legislation did not recognize the positive aspects of social media in supporting young people’s mental health and sense of connection.

“The government is blindfolded and hitting a brick wall by rushing in with these regulations. Young Australians deserve evidence-based policy, not hasty decisions,” Stone said in a press release.

The platforms complained that the bill could be unenforceable and urged the Senate to postpone the vote until at the very least June next yr, when a government-commissioned assessment of age assurance technology produced a report on the opportunity of excluding young children.

Critics say the federal government is attempting to persuade parents it’s protecting their children ahead of the final election in May. The government hopes voters will reward it for responding to oldsters’ concerns about their children’s addiction to social media. Some say the brand new rules could do more harm than they prevent.

The criticism is that the laws was passed quickly through parliament without adequate scrutiny, is ineffective, poses a risk to the privacy of all users and undermines the authority of fogeys to make decisions on behalf of their children.

Opponents also say a ban would isolate children, deprive them of the positive points of social media, drive them to the dark web, discourage children too young from reporting harm to social media, and reduce incentives for platforms to enhance online safety.