Social Media Giants Face $50 Million Fines if Under 16s are Allowed on Their Platform
The government states that the penalty amounts are intentionally large to reflect the significance of the harms the Bill aims to safeguard against.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has proposed a social media ban for under 16s in the Australian Parliament, with fines of $49.5 million (US$32.5 million) for social media corporations.
The penalties do not extend to individuals under 16 or their parents, carers, or educators.
“It will also strongly signal the expectation that age-restricted social media platforms treat the minimum age obligation seriously.”
The Bill requires social media platforms to verify the age of users.
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“It is the platform’s responsibility to develop systems and processes to ensure that individuals under the minimum age cannot create or maintain a social media account,” according to the government’s explanatory memorandum.
“The intent is not to penalize platforms for individual instances where young people bypass any reasonable measures established by the platform—but a failure to address such bypasses systematically may lead to a violation.”
When addressing Parliament, Rowland emphasized that the bill aims to protect young Australians during a crucial stage of their growth.
“This is about safeguarding young people, not punishing or alienating them, and assuring parents that we support their children’s health and well-being,” she stated.
“We will collaborate with stakeholders to ensure that only services meeting the strict criteria under eSafety’s authority can be accessed by children under 16.”
Opposition leader Peter Dutton strongly endorsed the government’s social media ban.
How Will Social Media Platforms Implement the Ban?
Social media platforms will need to confirm the age of account holders, with the method at their discretion.
“The Bill does not prescribe how platforms must adhere to the minimum age requirement,” as stated in the explanatory memorandum.
“However, it is expected that, at a minimum, platforms will need to implement an age verification system to determine if a prospective or existing account holder is an Australian child under 16 years old.”
One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts speculated on Nov. 21 that the ban might necessitate Australians to utilize a digital ID for age verification in the future.
Liberal Senator Alex Antic also expressed “real concerns” about the practical enforcement of an age-specific ban.
“Now immediately we’ve gone from talking about a law protecting children under 16 from online harm to proposals potentially requiring all Australians to submit personal identification as a condition of using social media.
“This is how concerns over safety, in this case, children’s safety, convince people to hand over their freedom, to hand over their personal information.”
