The law would make social media platforms liable for fines of up to $33 million for failing to prevent young children from holding accounts
Australia’s House of Representatives on Tuesday, November 26 approved a bill banning banning children under the age of 16 from social media.
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The Senate, which is scheduled to debate the bill later Wednesday, will now have to finalise the law which would be the world’s first ever.
The law would make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts, according to reports; the platforms would have one year to work out how to implement the age restrictions before the penalties are enforced.
Platforms would not be allowed to compel users to provide government-issued identity documents including passports or driver’s licenses. The platforms also could not demand digital identification through a government system.
“Will it be perfect? No. But is any law perfect? No, it’s not. But if it helps, even if it helps in just the smallest of ways, it will make a huge difference to people’s lives,” Opposition lawmaker Dan Tehan told Parliament.
The major parties’ support all but guarantees the legislation will pass in the Senate, where no party holds a majority of seats.
Critics argue the ban would isolate children, deprive them of positive aspects of social media, drive children to the dark web, make children too young for social media reluctant to report harms they encountered and take away incentives for platforms to make online spaces safer.
Billionaire Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter), had earlier criticised the proposed legislation to ban social media access for children under 16.
Musk, known for his outspoken views on free speech, took to X to express his opposition. Responding to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s post about the bill, Musk said, “Seems like a backdoor way to control access to the Internet by all Australians.”
Australia’s centre-left government has defended the bill as a necessary measure to protect children from harmful content and excessive online exposure. “We must take action to safeguard our youngest citizens,” Albanese stated. The bill proposes an age-verification system that could serve as a model for similar policies worldwide.
