Australia Intensifies Social Media Ban Enforcement Amid Global Scrutiny

Australia is intensifying enforcement of its ban on social media for children under 16, a policy that has attracted international interest from lawmakers in countries such as Spain and Malaysia. This increased action follows previous statements by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's government, which had earlier highlighted successful industry cooperation regarding the ban.

Credit: UNSPLASH

The government is now investigating Meta's Instagram and Facebook, TikTok, Alphabet's YouTube, and Snapchat for potential legal breaches. Evidence is being gathered for possible legal action against these platforms.

A spokesperson for Communications Minister Anika Wells stated that she had not toughened her stance due to global attention. Jeannie Paterson, co-founder of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Ethics, said, "The whole world's watching Australia in this experiment, and therefore it looks like weak government to back down or pretend that the failures in reasonable efforts aren't happening."

The government previously reported that social media platforms had deactivated 4.7 million suspected underage accounts. This initially led some industry participants to anticipate a grace period of up to a year on enforcement.

However, the eSafety regulator's first comprehensive compliance report indicated nearly one-third of parents reported their under-16 child still had at least one social media account. Among these, two-thirds of parents said the platform had not asked their child's age.

The regulator also noted that minors who failed an age test were often prompted to repeat the test until they passed. Communications Minister Wells asserted that the problem stemmed from "Big Tech" undermining government policy, rather than parents or children failing to comply.

Angela Flannery, a former general counsel for the government's Communications Department, observed that the government is heartened by other jurisdictions globally considering similar restrictions. Flannery added that the government likely wants to be seen taking action to encourage other jurisdictions to enforce or enact similar bans.

The ban requires platforms to take "reasonable steps" to prevent under-16s from having an account. Non-compliance could result in fines up to USD 34 million. Meta and Snap stated their commitment to complying with the ban; TikTok declined to comment.

Recent U.S. court decisions also appear to be bolstering Australia's resolve against platforms. A U.S. trial verdict recently ordered Meta to pay USD 375 million in penalties for safety lapses that permitted child exploitation on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Another U.S. court decision found Meta and Google negligent for designing social media platforms harmful to young people. Julian Sefton-Green, a professor of new media at Deakin University, suggested these jury decisions, finding social media liable for young people's well-being, will encourage the government.

Rob Nicholls, a researcher of regulation at the University of Sydney, predicted that such lawsuits might prompt platform redesigns globally to protect minors. He stated, "If you've got to do it to avoid litigation in the States, you may as well do the same thing around the world."

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• Australia is intensifying enforcement of its social media ban for children under 16.

• The policy has attracted international interest from countries including Spain and Malaysia.

• The government is investigating several major social media platforms for potential legal breaches.

Source: REUTERS