Anika Wells says social media age ban will ‘change a generation’

The Communications Minister has declared Australia’s social media age ban will transform a generation, as the eSafety Commissioner warns of AI-generated deepfake abuse in schools.

Communications Minister Anika Wells says the Albanese government’s world-leading social media age ban will “change a generation” of Australians for the better, as the eSafety Commission issues a chilling new warning about AI-generated deepfakes.

Speaking after a meeting with state and territory education ministers on the Gold Coast on Friday, Ms Wells said the ban – which was championed by News Corp’s Let Them Be Kids campaign – will change lives.

“We want children to have a childhood and have parents to have peace of mind”, Ms Wells said.

“We are not expecting perfection, but we are expecting significant change and a meaningful difference that will create cultural change across this country that doesn’t just change a law, but a generation.”

“We want this law to be discussed openly and regularly in classrooms, on the drive to school, and around kitchen tables.”

Communications Minister Anika Wells (left) speaking to the media on Friday with eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant.

Under the ban – which takes effect from December 10 – Australian children under the age of sixteen will be restricted from social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and X, with platforms facing hefty fines of up to $50m for not complying with the new laws.

The ban comes into effect as eSafety Commissioner Julie-Inman Grant issued a warning about Open AI’s Sora 2 – a new artificial intelligence platform which could generate hyper-realistic sexualised deepfake images in “a matter of seconds”.

“This is a real cause for concern. This is putting real potential online harms on steroids”, she said.

Ms Inman Grant confirmed the eSafety Commission was working with NSW Police following reports explicit deep-fake images of female students from a Sydney high school were circulated online.

From December 10, under-16-year-olds in Australia will be banned from accessing social media. File picture: iStock

She also revealed so-called “undressing apps” were used by at least 100,000 people in Australia, with the eSafety Commission notified of a new deepfake image incident in Australian schools every week.

“We’ve seen a doubling of deepfake image-based abuse reports to us over the last eighteen months … it’s just the tip of the iceberg”, she said.

To help parents and children prepare for the social media age ban, the eSafety Commission has released a comprehensive package of resources, including get-ready guides, conversation starters and an online hub with information on the new laws.

The eSafety Commission will also begin an extended series of webinars across time zones to answer questions from the public and provide additional details.

Originally published as Anika Wells says social media age ban will ‘change a generation’