Australia’s social media ban will stop children under the age of 16 from using platforms such as Facebook and TikTok in the country. But questions remain as the implementation of the policy, the world’s first, approaches. How will the new restrictions be enforced? How will Australia rein in tech giants?
Starting December 10, some of the world’s largest social media platforms will be forced to remove all users under the age of 16 in Australia. Hundreds of thousands of adolescents are expected to be affected, with Instagram alone reporting about 350,000 Australian users who are aged 13 to 15.
But not every Australian will have to prove their age, only those suspected of falling foul of the ban. And young users will still be able to access some social media without logging in – they just cannot register for their own accounts.
Social media platforms will be held responsible for weeding out underage accounts.
A number of trials have looked at different ways to do so, but the Australian government has so far refused to settle on a universally agreed-upon method.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has started deactivating accounts based on information such as the age given when the account was created. Account holders flagged by mistake could verify their age using a “video selfie” or by providing government-issued identification, Meta said.
Which platforms fall under the ban continues to be debated. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok are covered, as are streaming platforms including Kick and Twitch. YouTube was added, despite the government’s suggestion that it would be exempt so that children could watch lessons online.
Other popular apps and websites such as Roblox, Pinterest and WhatsApp are currently exempt but the list remains under review.
Australia expects rebellious teens will do their best to skirt the laws. Guidelines warn they might try to upload fake identification documents or use artificial intelligence to make their photos appear older. Platforms are expected to devise their own means to stop this.
The country has conceded that the ban will be far from perfect at the outset and that some underage users might fall through the cracks as issues are ironed out.
But tech platforms face fines of up to A$49.5 million (HK$253 million) if they fail to take “reasonable steps” to comply. It remains unclear how Australia’s internet safety regulator would interpret or enforce what counts as reasonable.
