Australia proposes $32m fine for social media firms flouting under-16s ban

Under bill, platforms similar Instagram and X would beryllium fixed 1 twelvemonth to find ways of restricting entree to minors.

Australia’s centre-left authorities has introduced a “landmark” measure successful parliament to prohibition children nether 16 from societal media.

The authorities could spot platforms specified arsenic X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram slapped with a good of up to 50 cardinal Australian dollars ($32.5m) if they neglect to barroom children from holding accounts.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said connected Thursday that the proposed law “places the onus connected societal media platforms, not parents oregon children, to guarantee protections are successful place”.

“For excessively galore young Australians, societal media tin beryllium harmful. Almost two-thirds of 14 to 17-year-old Australians person viewed highly harmful contented online, including cause abuse, termination oregon self-harm,” she told parliament.

The bill, which has the enactment of the governing Labor Party and the absorption Liberals, would assistance nary exemptions for parental consent oregon pre-existing accounts. After it becomes law, platforms would person 1 twelvemonth to enactment retired however to instrumentality the property restriction.

The country plans to proceedings an age-verification strategy that whitethorn see biometrics oregon authorities recognition to enforce a societal media property cut-off, immoderate of the toughest controls imposed by immoderate state to date.

However, analysts person expressed uncertainty it would beryllium technically feasible to enforce a strict property ban.

Katie Maskiell from UNICEF Australia said connected Thursday the projected authorities would not beryllium a “solve-all” for protecting children and that overmuch much needed to beryllium done.

She expressed fears that the instrumentality mightiness hazard pushing young radical onto “covert and unregulated online spaces”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese acknowledged successful a connection that “some kids volition find workarounds”, but stressed the proposals were a “landmark reform”.

Several different countries person been tightening children’s entree to societal media platforms.

Spain projected a instrumentality successful June that would rise the existent property bounds for societal media entree from 14 to 16, functioning done parental controls.

France past twelvemonth projected a prohibition connected societal media for those nether 15 but users were capable to debar the prohibition with parental consent.

And successful Florida, successful the United States, children nether 14 volition beryllium banned from opening societal media accounts nether a caller instrumentality owed to travel into unit successful January.

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Al Jazeera and quality agencies