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A social media ban for children under 16 passed the Australian Senate and will soon become a world-first law.
The law will make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X, and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars (C$45.5 million) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts.
The Senate passed the bill 34 votes to 19. The House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved the legislation by 102 votes to 13. The House has yet to endorse opposition amendments made in the Senate, but that is a formality since the government has already agreed they will pass.
The platforms will have one year to work out how they could implement the ban before penalties are enforced.
Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said the legislation had been “rushed.”
Digital Industry Group Inc., an advocate for the platforms in Australia, said questions remain about the law’s impact on children, its technical foundations, and scope.
“[The social media ban legislation] has been released and passed within a week, and, as a result, no one can confidently explain how it will work in practice – the community and platforms are in the dark about what exactly is required of them,” DIGI managing director Sunita Bose said in a statement.
The amendments bolster privacy protections. Platforms would not be allowed to compel users to provide government-issued identity documents, including passports or driver’s licenses, nor could they demand digital identification through a government system.
Sen. David Shoebridge, from the minority Greens party, said mental health experts agreed that the ban could isolate many children who used social media to find support.
“This policy will hurt vulnerable young people the most, especially in regional communities and especially the LGBTQI community, by cutting them off,” Shoebridge told the Senate.
Opposition Sen. Maria Kovacic said the bill was not radical but necessary. “The core focus of this legislation is simple: It demands that social media companies take reasonable steps to identify and remove underage users from their platforms,” Kovacic told the Senate.
Online safety campaigner Sonya Ryan, whose 15-year-old daughter Carly was murdered by a 50-year-old pedophile who pretended to be a teenager online, described the Senate vote as a “monumental moment in protecting our children from horrendous harms online.”
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Wayne Holdsworth, whose teenage son Mac took his own life after falling victim to an online sextortion scam, had advocated for the age restriction and took pride in its passage.
Christopher Stone, executive director of Suicide Prevention Australia, the governing body for the suicide prevention sector, said the legislation failed to consider positive aspects of social media in supporting young people’s mental health and sense of connection.
The Federal Government is running blindfolded into a brick wall by rushing the social media ban for young people under the age of 16.
We are urging the Federal Government to slow down. #Socialmedia #socialmediaban #australia #australiangovernmenthttps://t.co/KJf4ZTxCtj
— Suicide Prevention Australia (@SuicidePrevAU) November 28, 2024
The platforms had complained that the law would be unworkable and had urged the Senate to delay the vote until at least June 2025 when a government-commissioned evaluation of age assurance technologies will report on how young children could be excluded.
Critics argue the government is attempting to convince parents it is protecting their children ahead of a general election due by May. The government hopes that voters will reward it for responding to parents’ concerns about their children’s addiction to social media.
Some argue the legislation could cause more harm than it prevents.
Naturally, we respect the laws decided by the Australian Parliament. However, we are concerned about the process which rushed the legislation through while failing to properly consider the evidence, what industry already does to ensure age-appropriate experiences, and the voices of young people.
— Meta Platforms
Q: What is the purpose of the social media ban?
A: The social media ban aims to prevent children under 16 from using social media platforms.
Q: What are the consequences for non-compliance?
A: Platforms will face fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars (C$45.5 million) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts.
Q: How will the ban be enforced?
A: The platforms will have one year to work out how they could implement the ban before penalties are enforced.
Q: What is the timeline for the ban?
A: The ban is expected to come into effect once the House of Representatives endorses the opposition amendments made in the Senate, which is expected to happen on Friday.
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