Australians reacted with anger and relief to a ban on social media for those under 16, according to Reuters.
The government described the law, which comes into effect in a year, as world-leading, but tech giants like TikTok said it could push young people into “darker corners of the internet.”
The law requires tech giants, from the owners of Instagram and Facebook Meta Platforms to TikTok, to ban minors from logging in. Failure to do so will result in companies being fined up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($32 million). Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated on Friday:
Platforms now have a social responsibility to ensure the safety of our kids is a priority for them. We’re making sure that mums and dads can have that different conversation today and in future days.
Countries including France and some US states passed laws restricting access by minors without parental authorisation. The ban in Australia, however, is absolute. Reaction to it was mixed on Friday, with children saying they would try to find a way to circumvent the prohibition.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for TikTok, which is hugely popular with teenage users, said on Friday that the process had been rushed and risked putting children at further danger.
We’re disappointed the Australian government has ignored the advice of the many mental health, online safety, and youth advocacy experts who have strongly opposed the ban.
The ban could strain Australia’s relationship with key ally the United States, where X owner Elon Musk, a central figure in President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, said this month that the ban appeared to be a “backdoor way to control access to the internet by all Australians.”
Australia became the first country to force social media platforms to pay media outlets royalties for distributing their content, and now planned to threaten them with fines for failing to crack down on scams.
