Australia bans social media for children: what’s in the bill?

The Australian Parliament has passed a controversial law hailed as “landmark” by the government and criticised as unworkable by Big Tech.

The bill banning social media for children under 16 years old passed the Senate, the upper house of the Australian legislature, by a comfortable margin on Thursday (November 28), clearing its final hurdle before becoming law.

This world-first law, an amendment to existing online safety legislation, was sent to the Senate for final approval after the House of Representatives, the lower house of Parliament, passed it on Wednesday with a vote of 102 to 13.

The bill introduces some of the world's strictest social media controls and could take effect in a year’s time. It faced strong opposition from tech giants like Google, Meta, X, and TikTok, which will be impacted by the new rules.

The social media platforms said the bill lacked clarity on how the rules will be enforced and asked for it to be delayed until next year. However, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s centre-left Labor government pushed through the bill after securing bipartisan support for the ban.

Age restrictions also enjoy wide public support, with a YouGov survey released this week showing 77% of Australians backed the ban, up from 61% in August.

What does the bill say?

The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 sets a minimum age requirement for social media use, banning those younger than 16 years of age from creating accounts.

The bill introduces a new term of “age-restricted social media platforms” but does not name any. However, the government said the law would apply to Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, and X, among others.

The legislation mandates social media platforms to take "reasonable" steps to prevent children below the set age limit from creating accounts. The law makes it clear that the responsibility to ensure the rules are followed lies solely on the platforms.

Companies that fail to comply with new regulations will face steep fines. The government said penalties could reach up to 50 million Australian dollars ($32 million) for systemic failures.

The bill also bars the platforms from using personal information collected to verify age for any other reason. Companies will risk violating privacy laws if they do not guarantee “informed” consent that can be withdrawn, or destroy the data after its intended use.

The bill does not lay out how the age-verification will work, but the government said it should not involve requiring users to upload personal identification such as passports.

According to the bill, the new rules would come into effect at least 12 months after legislation was passed, giving social media companies a transitional period to implement the necessary rules.

Why is it controversial?

Critics say that the legislation was rushed through without sufficient scrutiny. They argue it could pose privacy risks for all users and undermine parental authority. There are also concerns age restrictions may backfire by isolating children and limiting social media’s positive impact.

According to the bill’s opponents, children may be pushed towards unsafe online spaces as a result and be discouraged from reporting harm. At the same time, the new rules could reduce the motivation of social media platforms to improve safety on their networks.

Big Tech actively lobbied against the bill, asking for the vote to be delayed until June next year, when a government-commissioned report of how best to enforce the ban is due.

Sunita Bose, managing director of the Digital Industry Group, which advocates for platforms like X, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok in Australia, stated that Parliament was “asked to pass a bill this week without knowing how it will work.”

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said the bill would be ineffective as it overlooks the “practical reality” of age assurance technology, while TikTok said it was “unworkable”.

Even Amnesty International urged the government to regulate social media more effectively rather than ban children altogether. It said young people have a right to online expression and access to information.

X owner Elon Musk warned that the bill could be a “backdoor way to control access to the Internet by all Australians,” a claim the government rejected. Treasurer Jim Chalmers dismissed Musk’s criticism, saying it was “not an especially big surprise to us, nor does it trouble us greatly.”

What is the government hoping to achieve?

The government said the bill would protect young Australians during “critical stages” of their development.

The legislation aims to create a safer online environment for children and teens – and hold platforms accountable for “social harm” they do, according to Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

“We want Australian children to have a childhood, and we want parents to know the Government is in their corner,” Albanese said.

“This is a landmark reform. We know some kids will find workarounds, but we're sending a message to social media companies to clean up their act,” he added.

Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland said that the new legislation will create a “new normal” around social media use. She said, “platforms have a responsibility to provide safe products and look after the mental health of young Australians.”

Online safety campaigner Wayne Holdsworth, whose 17-year-old son Mac took his own life last year after falling victim to an online sextortion scam, told The Associated Press that the bill is “absolutely essential for the safety of our children” and a “great step.”