‘Australians don’t give in to bullies’: PM takes on tech titans

Australia won’t be intimidated by tech titans says Anthony Albanese as he pursues world-leading new laws raising the minimum age for social media.

Australia will not “give in” to bullies, says Anthony Albanese as he stares down the tech titans to pursue world-leading new laws raising the minimum age for social media.

The Prime Minister has signalled the federal government was prepared to stand its ground and enforce age limits on social media to protect young Australians from the “serious physical and mental impacts” of platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

“Australians don’t give in to bullies – these tech companies think that they’re above national sovereignty,” he said.

“They think that digital platforms should have more power than citizens do. We are taking action to protect kids and protect Australians, and that is what people want.”

Mr Albanese said he was bracing for a fight with the tech giants over his government’s commitment to raising the social media age, noting billionaire Elon Musk’s X Corp has repeatedly resisted efforts by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner to enforce online safety rules.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia won’t be bullied by tech giants. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The PM said social media giants making “massive profits” must accept they have a social responsibility to ensure the safety of children.

“This is a global phenomenon, which is why governments are looking at what they can do to protect their citizens from (harms) including everything from eating disorders through to a normalising of misogynistic content, to undermining social cohesion,” he told the Daily Telegraph.

X Corp chief Elon Musk has called the Albanese Government ‘fascist’ over its proposed misinformation laws. Picture: Frederic Brown/AFP

The PM said he recognised age limits alone would not prevent all harm, but it would “assist parents who are asking for help” to protect their children.

“Just like having an under 18 limit for alcohol doesn’t mean that no one under 18 has ever had alcohol, it does though set a social value,” he said.

Mr Albanese also criticised Mr Musk’s comments labelling him a “fascist” over the government’s draft misinformation and disinformation laws.

“These people think they’re above any accountability, and when anyone calls them out, they respond with abuse and invective rather than being prepared to listen,” he said.

“I think Mr Musk’s comments say more about him than they do about the government.”

Labor and the Coalition both support raising the age limit for social media in Australia. Picture: NewsWire / Aaron Francis

Mr Musk doubled down on his criticism of Mr Albanese’s government over the weekend, but the PM said Labor wanted to get the “balance right” on misinformation.

Mr Albanese said he was committed to ensuring legitimate journalists were protected, as they were already “accountable for what they publish”.

“But social media isn’t a social licence to spread damaging lies and untruths,” he said.

“There needs to be some level of accountability, and that is something that our security agency heads have warned against, that this is having an impact on social cohesion.”

Coalition communications spokesman David Coleman has called for more clarity in Labor’s misinformation proposal, warning Australians should not be penalised for expressing “unintentionally misleading statements”.

“In the explanatory memorandum of the bill, it expressly says it includes opinions ... and it doesn’t have to be an opinion that’s malicious or deliberately designed to harm people,” he told Sky News yesterday.

Despite his concerns with the draft bill, Mr Coleman did not endorse Mr Musk’s “fascist” comment.

“I would say contemptuous of free speech,” he said. “I would say, more generally, weak, indecisive. But (fascist) is not a term that I would use”

Mr Albanese has indicated an age limit of 16 is his preference, which has been advocated in News Corp’s Let Them Be Kids campaign.

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has resisted global attempts to regulate of tech platforms. Picture: Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg

If Australia imposes a national restriction it would be the first country to do so and Mr Albanese said he expected it to be discussed at upcoming meetings of global leaders, including the G20 and APEC.

“This is something that is impacting globally, these tech giants put themselves above the values that nation states try to protect,” he said.

In August, X was banned in Brazil after failing to meet a deadline set by a Supreme Court judge to name a new legal representative in the country amid a stoush over misinformation.

This month, Meta vice president and global head of safety Antigone Davis travelled to Canberra to from an ongoing parliamentary inquiry into social media for a second time after sparking outrage with an earlier appearance by video.

In June, Ms Davis said “I don’t think social media has done harm to our children,” but a few months later she switched strategy to suggesting Australia impose age verification requirements on app stores for certain platforms.

Mr Albanese said he saw this in-person visit as a “positive sign,” but he still expected the major platform to implement serious child safety provisions.

“We need to see more action from them,” he said.

“These companies need to show social responsibility in order to confirm that they’re deserving of the social license to operate.”

Originally published as ‘Australians don’t give in to bullies’: PM takes on tech titans