The Australian government has taken a brave step into the realm of online safety. They unveiled a historic emergency ban on social media for everyone under 16 years old. It is an essential legislative step to protect online harms experienced by younger Australians, which came into effect in late 2022. In early May, Communications Minister Anika Wells announced detailed new regulatory guidelines to govern the ban. The nitty gritty … Those nitty gritty details are in a dense but important 55-page notice.
Under the new rules, social media companies now must make it impossible for children under 16 from being able to use their platforms. These companies don’t need to age-verify each user nor retain personally identifiable information from age checks. They should be required to proactively deactivate or delete any current underage accounts. In addition, platforms need to go beyond these three measures and do so in a transparent and sensitive way by checking that users can’t just re-register.
Certainly, Minister Wells’ statements about the government’s commitment to privacy and data minimization are commendable.
“We want these rules and the delivery of these laws to be as data-minimising as possible to make sure that people’s data is as private as possible,” – Communications Minister Anika Wells
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has strong powers to compel compliance. She can even levy penalties as high as $50 million against platforms that violate these new regulations. This positive financial incentive would help make sure that any measures social media companies take would be much more than half-hearted efforts.
Unfortunately, despite the government’s best efforts, many are doubtful as to whether this ban will truly be enforceable. Greens Senator for Arts and Communication, Sarah Hanson-Young, criticized the plan. She was concerned it wouldn’t meaningfully address the underlying problems around online safety.
“What a mess. What an absolute debacle this social media ban is going to be… rather than policing the sharks the government is just hoping the kids just don’t jump into the water,” – Greens Senator for Arts and Communication, Sarah Hanson-Young
Professor Lisa Given, an interdisciplinary scholar and researcher at RMIT, spoke out against the ban. She claimed that it would do nothing to stop children from potentially experiencing dangerous content online. She noted that children would still be able to view harmful content through other methods, such as web browsers or adult profiles.
“At the end of the day, kids will still encounter potentially harmful content online… parents are always going to have to be really vigilant,” – Professor Lisa Given
On releasing the tender, Minister Wells restated the government’s commitment to consistently stand by Australian families. She explained that though they cannot fully prevent the harms of what children will encounter online environments, there are meaningful steps that they can take to protect children.
“We will always keep backing Australian families and keeping Australian kids safe. We cannot control the ocean, but we can police the sharks and today we’re making clear to the rest of the world how we intend to do this,” – Communications Minister Anika Wells
The passage of this historic ban is a huge step in Australia’s effort to protect youth online. It represents a clear, continuing effort to respond to increasing fears about the negative influence of social media on its youngest consumers. As both supporters and critics weigh in on its potential effectiveness, many eyes will be watching how this policy unfolds in practice.
