Australia will push for a social media ban for under-16s despite calls from Meta Platforms Inc. to consider shifting responsibility for controlling usage to app store operators such as Google and Apple.
Premier Anthony Albanese announced on Friday that all state and territory leaders had signed off on the age restriction plan, with the government ruling out any exceptions for major services like Facebook , TikTok or X.
The legislation will be introduced to parliament in the week commencing November 18, with a 12-month gap between the bill’s passage and its entry into force. No information was provided about what personal information would be required to prove proof of age on social media or the penalties companies could face for breaking the law. The government has also not released a complete list of which platforms are considered social media.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said that under the new law, such services would be labeled as “age-restricted”. The minister said the government would look at individual websites and online services to decide whether they were covered by the law, but added that gaming services and messaging apps were covered. will be exempted.
Australia has a history of competing with the big tech companies that run social sites, including a 2021 attempt to force Meta’s Facebook and Alphabet Inc’s Google. pay for news content. More recently, the government has clashed with X Corp. by Elon Musk about not deleting the video of the terrorist attack in Sydney.
Meta Australia’s regional policy director, Mia To Garlic, said while the company agreed that young people needed “age-appropriate experiences” on social media, it was important to see Consider how to do this in practice.
“The challenge is that the technology is not yet mature enough to have a perfect solution,” Garlic told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Friday. She added that it would be better if mobile app store providers set age limits for their products rather than social media companies.
“If each app has to implement its own age-appropriate controls, then the real burden will fall on young people and parents for each different app they use,” she said. Children want to use it.
TikTok and X have not commented on the age restriction policy. Representative of Apple Inc. and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Albanese rejected Meta’s proposal, saying he believed the government had made the right proposal and predicted there would be opposition to the new law.
He said while the law was unlikely to completely remove children under 16 from online platforms, it would send an important signal.
“We prohibit people under 18 from buying alcohol. Well, this weekend I’m sure there will be an example of someone under 18 accessing alcohol,” he told reporters in Canberra. “It’s not like you say, ‘Oh, it’s too stiff, just let it rip.’”
