Australia set to become 1st country to ban social media for users under age 16

The Australian Senate passed a bill on Thursday imposing a social media ban for children under the age of 16 and it will soon become a worldfirst law news agenct AP reportedThe law will make platforms including TikTok Facebook Snapchat Reddit X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars USD 33 million for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accountsThe Senate approved the bill with a 3419 vote following the overwhelming approval by the House of Representatives on Wednesday which passed the legislation 102 votes to 13 AP reported Although the House has yet to endorse amendments made in the Senate this is seen as a formality as the government has already agreed to pass them The platforms will have one year to implement measures to enforce the ban before penalties are applied Meta Platforms which owns Facebook and Instagram expressed concerns calling the legislation ldquorushedrdquo The amendments bolster privacy protections prohibiting platforms from compelling users to provide governmentissued identification such as passports or driverrsquos licences or requiring digital identification via a government system The House is scheduled to pass the amendments on Friday AP reported Heres what critics of the bill saySome critics worry that banning children under 16 from social media could impact the privacy of users who will have to prove they are older than 16 While major political parties in Australia support the ban child welfare and mental health advocates have voiced concerns about potential unintended consequences Senator David Shoebridge from the minority Greens party said mental health experts agreed that the ban could isolate many children who use social media to find support ldquoThis policy will hurt vulnerable young people the most especially in regional communities and especially the LGBTQI community by cutting them offrdquo Shoebridge told the Senate Opposition Senator Maria Kovacic argued that the bill was not radical but necessary ldquoThe core focus of this legislation is simple It demands that social media companies take reasonable steps to identify and remove underage users from their platformsrdquo Kovacic stated ldquoThis is a responsibility these companies should have been fulfilling long ago but for too long they have shirked these responsibilities in favour of profitrdquo she added Parents of victims hail legislationOnline safety campaigner Sonya Ryan whose 15yearold daughter Carly was murdered by a 50yearold pedophile who posed as a teenager online hailed the Senate vote as a ldquomonumental moment in protecting our children from horrendous harms onlinerdquo ldquoItrsquos too late for my daughter Carly and the many other children who have suffered terribly and those who have lost their lives in Australia but let us stand together on their behalf and embrace this togetherrdquo Ryan told the Associated Press in an email Wayne Holdsworth whose teenage son Mac tragically took his own life after falling victim to an online sextortion scam also expressed pride in the passage of the age restriction ldquoI have always been a proud Australian but for me subsequent to todayrsquos Senate decision I am bursting with priderdquo Holdsworth told the Associated Press in an email However Christopher Stone executive director of Suicide Prevention Australia warned that the legislation failed to consider the positive role social media plays in supporting young peoplersquos mental health and sense of connection ldquoThe government is running blindfolded into a brick wall by rushing this legislation Young Australians deserve evidencebased policies not decisions made in hasterdquo Stone stated The platforms have argued that the law will be unworkable and urged the Senate to delay the vote until June 2025 when a governmentcommissioned evaluation of age assurance technologies will be completed offering insights on how to exclude younger children ldquoNaturally we respect the laws decided by the Australian Parliamentrdquo said Meta Platforms owner of Facebook and Instagram in a statement ldquoHowever we are concerned about the process which rushed the legislation through while failing to properly consider the evidence what industry already does to ensure ageappropriate experiences and the voices of young peoplerdquo Critics argue that the government is using the legislation to appeal to parents ahead of the general election due by May They hope voters will reward the government for responding to concerns about childrenrsquos addiction to social media However opponents contend that the legislation may cause more harm than good Among the criticisms are claims that the bill was rushed through Parliament without adequate scrutiny is ineffective poses privacy risks for all users and undermines parentsrsquo authority to make decisions for their children Opponents also argue that the ban will isolate children deprive them of the positive aspects of social media push them to the dark web discourage children too young for social media from reporting harm and reduce incentives for platforms to improve online safetyWith AP inputs