Popular social media platforms Tiktok, Snapchat and Instagram are among the sites that will have to ban children younger than 16, with reforms likely to pass parliament by the end of the fortnight.
Federal Communications Minister Michelle Rowland introduced world-first legislation to the House of Representatives on Thursday, saying it would make the online environment safer for young people.
TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) will have to impose age limitations on users. But Messenger Kids, WhatsApp, Kids Helpline, Google Classroom and YouTube are expected to be classified as “out-of-scope services”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government wanted this “action to happen as soon as possible”, as the opposition confirmed it would work constructively to see the bill passed next week.
Concerns with the speed at which the bill is slated to pass through the parliament have been raised, with only 24 hours allowed for submissions to a Senate enquiry initiated on Thursday. It will report its findings on Tuesday.
Advocacy groups, including the Australian Human Rights Commission, have come out against the ban. The AHRC said it would likely have negative human rights impacts on young people: “If there are less restrictive options available to achieve the aim of protecting children from harm, they should be preferred over a blanket ban.”
Companies that breach the minimum age obligation will face fines of up to $49.5 million. Under the draft laws, the onus will be on social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent children younger than 16 from having accounts.
There will be a minimum lead-in period of 12 months before the ban is activated. Parents will not be able to give consent for their children to use social media, and users will not be required to hand over sensitive ID documents to platforms.
Australia would be the first country to have an age ban on social media. Age verification trials are underway to determine how the ban will be enforced.
AAP with Josefine Ganko