It is a move the Australian government argues is necessary to protect the mental health and wellbeing of children. The legislation does not specify which platforms will be banned as these decisions will be made later – but communications minister Michelle Rowland has previously said that TikTok, X, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit and Facebook are likely to be part of the ban.
The law will impose fines of up to AU$50m (£26m) on platforms for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts. Gaming and messenger platforms are exempt, as are websites that can be accessed without an account, which should mean YouTube is unaffected.
The ban will take effect a year after the bill becomes law, allowing platforms time to work out technological solutions that would also protect users’ privacy. A trial of methods to enforce it will start in January.
The Senate passed the bill by 34 votes to 19 yesterday, after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the legislation by 102 votes to 13 on Wednesday. It now goes back to the lower house – where the government has a majority – to approve amendments, before becoming law.
This story is from the November 29, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the November 29, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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