Australians yesterday reacted with a mixture of anger and relief to a social media ban on children younger than 16 that the government says is world-leading, but which tech giants argue could push young people to “darker corners of the Internet.”
Australia approved the social media ban for children late on Thursday after an emotive debate that has gripped the nation, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one of the toughest regulations targeting big tech.
The law forces tech giants from Instagram and Facebook owner Meta Platforms to TikTok to stop minors from logging in or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$32 million). A trial of enforcement methods is to start in January, with the ban to take effect in a year.
Photo: AAP Image via Reuters
“Platforms now have a social responsibility to ensure the safety of our kids is a priority for them,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. “We’re making sure that mums and dads can have that different conversation today and in future days.”
Announcing the details of the ban earlier this month, Albanese cited the risks to physical and mental health of children from excessive social media use, in particular the risks to girls from harmful depictions of body image, and misogynist content aimed at boys.
In Sydney yesterday, reaction to the ban was mixed.
“I think that’s a great idea, because I found that the social media for kids [is] not really appropriate, sometimes they can look at something they shouldn’t,” Sydney resident Francesca Sambas said.
Others were more scathing.
“I’m feeling very angry, I feel that this government has taken democracy and thrown it out the window,” 58-year-old Shon Klose said. “How could they possibly make up these rules and these laws and push it upon the people?”
Meanwhile, children said that they would try to find a way around the ban.
“I feel like I still will use it, just secretly get in,” 11-year-old Emma Wakefield said.
Countries including France and some US states have passed laws to restrict access for minors without a parent’s permission, but the Australian ban is absolute. A full under-14s ban in Florida is being challenged in court on free speech grounds.
Albanese’s Labor party won crucial support from the opposition conservatives for the bill that was fast-tracked through the parliament as part of 31 bills pushed through in a chaotic final day of parliament for the year.
The government has said enough notice was given as it first flagged the ban after a parliamentary inquiry earlier this year that heard testimony from parents of children who had self-harmed due to cyberbullying, but it was criticized by social media firms and some lawmakers who say the bill has lacked proper scrutiny.
A spokesperson for TikTok, which is hugely popular with teenaged users, yesterday said that the process had been rushed and risked putting children into greater danger.
“We’re disappointed the Australian government has ignored the advice of the many mental health, online safety and youth advocacy experts who have strongly opposed the ban,” the spokesperson said.
Albanese said passing the bill before the age verification trial has been completed was the correct approach.
“We’ve got your back is our message to Australian parents,” he said. “We don’t argue that its implementation will be perfect, just like the alcohol ban for under 18s doesn’t mean that someone under 18 never has access, but we know that it’s the right thing to do.”
The ban could strain Australia’s relationship with key ally the US, where X owner Elon Musk, a central figure in the administration of US president-elect Donald Trump, said in a post this month it seemed a “backdoor way to control access to the Internet by all Australians.”
It also builds on an existing mood of antagonism between Australia and mostly US-domiciled tech giants. Australia was the first nation to make social media platforms pay media outlets royalties for sharing their content and now plans to threaten them with fines for failing to stamp out scams.
Seven people sustained mostly minor injuries in an airplane fire in South Korea, authorities said yesterday, with local media suggesting the blaze might have been caused by a portable battery stored in the overhead bin. The Air Busan plane, an Airbus A321, was set to fly to Hong Kong from Gimhae International Airport in southeastern Busan, but caught fire in the rear section on Tuesday night, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said. A total of 169 passengers and seven flight attendants and staff were evacuated down inflatable slides, it said. Authorities initially reported three injuries, but revised the number
‘BALD-FACED LIE’: The woman is accused of administering non-prescribed drugs to the one-year-old and filmed the toddler’s distress to solicit donations online A social media influencer accused of filming the torture of her baby to gain money allegedly manufactured symptoms causing the toddler to have brain surgery, a magistrate has heard. The 34-year-old Queensland woman is charged with torturing an infant and posting videos of the little girl online to build a social media following and solicit donations. A decision on her bail application in a Brisbane court was yesterday postponed after the magistrate opted to take more time before making a decision in an effort “not to be overwhelmed” by the nature of allegations “so offensive to right-thinking people.” The Sunshine Coast woman —
BORDER SERVICES: With the US-funded International Rescue Committee telling clinics to shut by tomorrow, Burmese refugees face sudden discharge from Thai hospitals Healthcare centers serving tens of thousands of refugees on the Thai-Myanmar border have been ordered shut after US President Donald Trump froze most foreign aid last week, forcing Thai officials to transport the sickest patients to other facilities. The International Rescue Committee (IRC), which funds the clinics with US support, told the facilities to shut by tomorrow, a local official and two camp committee members said. The IRC did not respond to a request for comment. Trump last week paused development assistance from the US Agency for International Development for 90 days to assess compatibility with his “America First” policy. The freeze has thrown
TESTING BAN: Satellite photos show a facility in the Chinese city of Mianyang that could aid nuclear weapons design and power generation, a US researcher said China appears to be building a large laser-ignited fusion research center in the southwestern city of Mianyang, experts at two analytical organizations said, a development that could aid nuclear weapons design and work exploring power generation. Satellite photos show four outlying “arms” that would house laser bays, and a central experiment bay that would hold a target chamber containing hydrogen isotopes the powerful lasers would fuse together, producing energy, said Decker Eveleth, a researcher at US-based independent research organization CNA Corp. It is a similar layout to the US$3.5 billion US National Ignition Facility (NIF) in northern California, which in 2022 generated
RSS