SYDNEY: Australia on Thursday passed a law banning social media for children under 16 after an emotional debate that gripped the nation, one of the toughest regulations targeting big tech. Together, they set a standard for jurisdictions around the world.
The law forces tech giants from Instagram and Facebook owner META to TikTok to prevent minors from logging in or face fines of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million).
Testing of enforcement methods will begin in January and the ban will come into effect within a year.
The “social media minimum age” bill sets Australia up as a test case for a growing number of governments that have enacted or proposed legislation out of concern for the mental health impact on young people. In between, they intend to legislate for age restrictions on social media.
Countries including France and some US states have passed laws to limit access to minors without parental permission, but the Australian ban is absolute.
Florida’s complete ban on under-14s is being challenged in court on free speech grounds.
Passing the law after a marathon final day of Australia’s parliamentary year marks a political victory for centre-left Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who is running for re-election in 2025 amid declining opinion polls.
The ban faced opposition from privacy advocates and some children’s rights groups, but according to the latest polls, 77 percent of the population wanted it.
Domestic media backed a ban until 2024, led by Rupert Murdoch, in the wake of a parliamentary inquiry which heard evidence from parents of children self-harming because of social media bullying. News CorporationThe country’s largest newspaper publisher, with a campaign called “Let the Children Be”.
But the ban could strain relations with Australia’s key ally the United States, where X owner Elon Musk, a central figure in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, said in a post this month that it seemed that it is “a backdoor way of controlling access to the Australian. Internet by all Australians”.
It also builds on the current mood of rivalry between Australia and most US-based tech giants.
Australia was the first country to force social media platforms to pay royalties to media outlets for sharing their content and now plans to threaten them with fines for failing to crack down on scams.
Representatives for Meta, TikTok and X, which the government said would be affected by the ban, were not immediately available for comment.
“It’s the cart before the horse,” said Sunita Bose, managing director of the Digital Industry Group, which has most social media companies as members.
Bose added, “We have the bill but we don’t have any guidance from the Australian Government on what are the exact methods that a whole host of services subject to this legislation will need to use. ” Reuters.