Australia has passed a social media ban for young children that will soon become a world-first law.
The law – passed by the Australian Senate – will make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars (£25.6 million) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts.
The Senate passed the bill by 34 votes to 19 and came after the House of Representatives on Wednesday had approved the legislation by a huge gap of 102 to 13 votes.
Opposition amendments made in the Senate are yet to be endorsed by the House, but that is seen as a formality as the Government has already agreed they will pass.
The social media platforms will have one year to finalise how they could implement the ban before penalties are enforced.
The new law would mean platforms would not be allowed to compel users to provide government-issued identity documents including passports or driver’s licenses.
They would also be unable to demand digital identification through a government system.
The House is set to pass the ammendments on Friday, but criticis of the new legislation fear banning young children from social media will impact the privacy of users who must establish they are older than 16.
Sen. David Shoebridge, from the minority Greens party, said mental health experts agreed the ban could dangerously isolate many children who used social media to find support.
He told the Senate: “This policy will hurt vulnerable young people the most, especially in regional communities and especially the LGBTQI community, by cutting them off.” Shoebridge told the Senate.
Opposition Sen. Maria Kovacic said the bill was necessary.
She told the Senate: “The core focus of this legislation is simple: It demands that social media companies take reasonable steps to identify and remove underage users from their platforms,” Kovacic told the Senate.
“This is a responsibility these companies should have been fulfilling long ago, but for too long they have shirked these responsibilities in favor of profit.”
