Social media companies that fail to exclude children under 16 from their platforms could be fined up to $50 million under the proposed labor bill, despite possible exclusions for main messaging applications.
Labor will introduce its social media age limit legislation to Parliament on Thursday, which is expected to be passed before the end of the year with coalition support.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the reforms are “about protecting young people and letting parents know we support them”.
“The legislation places responsibility on social media platforms, not parents or children, to ensure protections are in place,” she said.
These world-first laws would require platforms to “take reasonable steps” to prevent people under the age of 16 from creating accounts and seek to impose fines of $50 million on companies that systematically violate regulations.
Opposition communications spokesman David Coleman told Sky News on Wednesday that the Coalition would “work very constructively with the government”, adding that he wanted “to see this bill passed before the adjournment of Parliament for the end of the year.
But the Coalition also warned it would not support legislation which contains “loopholes”.
Potential exemptions for Snapchat are ‘ridiculous’
Labor has repeatedly named platforms like TikTok, X, Instagram and Facebook as targets of these laws, but questions remain over the fate of platforms like Snapchat, Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger.
The government has confirmed that its bill would allow the Minister of Communications to grant exemptions for certain messaging services, online games and educational platforms.
While Coleman previously called Snapchat’s potential exemption “ridiculous,” Rowland seemed to rule out the possibility.
“[Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok] are part of a range called age-restricted services, as defined by law. Just like alcohol is an age-restricted product, these are age-restricted services,” Rowland said.
She confirmed that YouTube Kids would be exempt, urging social media companies to consider age-appropriate channels for young people.
“Prohibit blunt instruments”
Media law expert Faith Gordon is among 120 academics who have written to the Prime Minister to raise concerns about the proposed ban.
She pointed out that the bill was being submitted to Parliament before the conclusion of the government’s own trial of age verification technologies.
“So many might describe this as an impulsive political decision. We have not received any updates from the government on this trial,” she said.
“This ban is truly a blunt instrument, and we are not hearing different views on how this will work in reality.”
Gordon discussed the possibility of young people circumventing laws by using virtual private network (VPN) connections, while highlighting the potential benefits of social media.
“Research has shown that LGBTQI+ young people use online spaces to interact with other young people, to connect and educate themselves, and they have really been missing from the discussions,” Gordon said.
“There are other young people who live in rural and regional areas and who find these online spaces provide them with a sense of connection and belonging.”
Social media giant Meta has separately expressed concerns that an app-by-app approach could lead to large-scale data breaches, favoring a “one-stop shop” age verification model via the App Store.
To this end, the government has confirmed that its legislation will require platforms to destroy all information they collect as part of the age verification process.
