By a vote of 34 to 19, the Senate approved the bill. By a vote of 102 to 13, the House of Representatives on Wednesday passed the law with overwhelming support. Opposition amendments introduced in the Senate have not yet been approved by the House.
However, since the administration has already promised that they would pass, that is really a formality. Before sanctions are imposed, the platforms will have a year to figure out how to carry out the embargo.
The Australian Senate approved a social media ban for kids under 16 on Thursday, and it will soon become the first law of its kind in the world. The law will impose fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, Snapchat, and X for failing to prevent children under the age of 16 from holding accounts.
Facebook and Instagram's parent company, Meta Platforms, claimed the law was "hurried." Facebook and Instagram's parent company, Meta Platforms, claimed the law was "hurried." There are still concerns regarding the law's technical underpinnings, reach, and effect on children, according to Digital Industry Group Inc., an Australian advocacy group representing the platforms.
“The social media ban legislation has been released and passed within a week, and, as a result, no one can confidently explain how it will work in practice—the community and platforms are in the dark about what exactly is required of them,” DIGI managing director Sunita Bose said in a statement.
The changes strengthen privacy safeguards. Platforms would not be permitted to require digital identification through a government system or to require users to produce government-issued identification documents, such as driver's licenses or passports.
The revisions are expected to be approved by the House on Friday. The law's opponents worry that preventing young children from using social media will violate the privacy of individuals who are required to prove they are at least 16 years old. Many advocates for mental health and child welfare are worried about unforeseen repercussions, even if the major parties support the prohibition.
"Mental health experts agreed that the ban could dangerously isolate many children who used social media to find support," said Sen. David Shoebridge of the Greens, the party's minority.
“This policy will hurt vulnerable young people the most, especially in regional communities and especially the LGBTQI community, by cutting them off,” Shoebridge told the Senate.
Opposition Sen. Maria Kovacic said the bill was not radical but necessary. “The core focus of this legislation is simple: It demands that social media companies take reasonable steps to identify and remove underage users from their platforms,” Kovacic told the Senate.
“This is a responsibility these companies should have been fulfilling long ago, but for too long, they have shirked these responsibilities in favour of profit,” she added.
Online safety campaigner Sonya Ryan, whose 15-year-old daughter Carly was murdered by a 50-year-old paedophile who pretended to be a teenager online, described the Senate vote as a “monumental moment in protecting our children from horrendous harms online.”
“It’s 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 together,” she told the AP in an email.
The age restriction had been pushed for and passed with pride by Wayne Holdsworth, whose teenage son Mac committed himself after becoming a victim of an online sextortion fraud.
“I have always been a proud Australian, but for me, subsequent to today’s Senate decision, I am bursting with pride,” Holdsworth told the AP in an email.
According to Christopher Stone, executive director of Suicide Prevention Australia, which oversees the suicide prevention industry, the law did not take into account social media's benefits for fostering young people's sense of community and mental health.
“The government is running blindfolded into a brick wall by rushing this legislation. Young Australians deserve evidence-based policies, not decisions made in haste,” Stone said in a statement.
Source: apnews.com