Multiple news outlets have reported that Snapchat will be included in the government’s social media ban after Communications Minister Michelle Rowland flagged that the tech giant would argue it should be excluded as a messaging service.
As the Albanese government moves to tamp down concerns about handing over identification to digital companies, it will introduce a world-first bill to parliament today to ban younger teens from social media platforms.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has moved to ban social media platforms including Snapchat for young people under 16.Credit: Bloomberg
Crucial details about the technology that would enforce the ban remain undecided. But ahead of the legislation’s introduction, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said fines of up to $50 million could be handed to companies that systematically breached the law.
The Coalition has announced they will support the bill, with deputy leader Sussan Ley welcoming the inclusion of Snapchat, saying the ban “wouldn’t have worked” if the popular platform was excluded.
“Snapchat is a platform where significant bullying takes place, and it’s not on.”
Ley said the details of the bill will have to account for emerging social media platforms, to ensure new sites don’t attempt to circumvent the ban.
“We would have to have some way of examining the future as well as what’s on the table now because tech moves quickly,” Ley told Sky News.
“These are the sorts of details in the bill that we need to see and that we need to understand, and we need to make sure that we get it right, that the parliament gets this right.”