Tech giant concern as social media ban passes

Social media platforms have hit out at an incoming age limit for Australian children after laws passed federal parliament. In a world first, children under 16 will be banned from using social media, after the House of Representatives signed off on the proposal on Friday, The laws, which will come into effect from late 2025, will capture platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit and X (formerly Twitter) Exemptions will apply for health and education services including YouTube, Messenger Kids, WhatsApp, Kids Helpline and Google Classroom. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said while they respected the decision by federal parliament, issues remained with how the ban would be enforced. "We are concerned about the process which rushed the legislation through while failing to properly consider the evidence, what industry already does to ensure age-appropriate experiences, and the voices of young people," a spokesman for Meta said. "The task now turns to ensuring there is productive consultation on all rules associated with the bill to ensure a technically feasible outcome that does not place an onerous burden on parents and teens and a commitment that rules will be consistently applied across all social apps used by teens." Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said social media companies would have a greater responsibility to keep children safe online. "Platforms now have a social responsibility to ensure the safety of our kids is a priority for them," he told reporters in Canberra on Friday. "Parents can have a different discussion with their young ones, a different discussion that will result in better outcomes and less harm for young Australians." Social media sites will have to take reasonable steps to prevent under-16s from creating accounts, with $50 million fines to be imposed on companies for systemic breaches. Mr Albanese said the 12-month gap between the laws being passed and coming into effect will ensure the changes will be effective. "What we've done is world leading. We'll work to make sure that it's got right. But the legislation is very clear," he said. "We don't argue that its implementation will be perfect. Just like the alcohol ban for under 18 , it doesn't mean that someone under 18 never has access, but we know that it's the right thing to do." Age-verification trials on how young people would be stopped from accessing social media are still ongoing. The Meta spokesman said an option would be age verification through operating systems or app stores. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said the ban would be a relief to parents. "It's something that most, most parents around the country would give a head nod to, because these big tech companies only see our kids as a profit-making venture," he told Nine's Today program. "Hopefully we can keep young kids, young impressionable minds, off Snapchat and other social media platforms." Opposition communications spokesman David Coleman said the coalition would make enforcing the bans a priority, should they win government at the next election. "This new law will make a real difference for Australian families," he said. "It has taken longer than we would have liked for the government to act, but we are pleased that this law has now passed the parliament." Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has said social media users won't be forced to hand over government-issued IDs including passports to verify their age. But it's unclear how age would be confirmed without identity verification, a parliamentary committee found. DIGI managing director Sunita Bose said there were still many questions about how the ban would work. "The social media ban could push young people into darker, less safe corners of the Internet that do not have the safety guardrails that exist on mainstream platforms," she said.