2 days Ago By Dominic Giannini
Kids will be banned from social media platforms under world-first laws set to clear parliament with bipartisan support. WHAT ARE THE CHANGES * There will be a minimum age of 16 for social media platforms * Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit and X (formerly Twitter) are set to be covered by the law * It will be the responsibility of platforms to implement technology to verify ages under the threat of fines of up to $50 million. * Parents cannot give consent for kids to skirt the laws but neither they nor their kids will face penalties * The responsible minister can exclude some services, such as messaging platforms, online games and services primarily focused on health and education * This includes platforms such as Facebook Messenger Kids, WhatsApp, Kids Helpline My Circle, Google Classroom and YouTube * There will also be a digital duty of care for social media companies to ensure safe platforms and proactively put in place measures to protect users and minimise harm WHAT'S NEXT * There will be at least a 12-month lead-in period for platforms to adjust to the changes after the law passes parliament * An age verification trial is underway to determine what technology can be used to enforce the ban, but the federal government won't mandate a particular technology WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING "Social media has a social responsibility, we know they can and should do better to address harms on their platforms.
" - Communications Minister Michelle Rowland "A blunt ban doesn't encourage companies to continually improve safety because the focus is on keeping teenagers off the service rather than keeping them safe when they're on it." - DIGI managing director Sunita Bose "We want to have the interests of young Australians front and centre, not the interests of the tech companies." - Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley "While the government's concern for young users' safety is understandable, blanket bans risk cutting young people off from important opportunities to engage, learn and share information online.
" - Human Rights Law Centre senior lawyer David Mejia-Canales.
