Social media crackdown: Ad campaign to explain changes
Australia’s world-first social media ban for under-16s will be promoted through a national campaign this weekend, as the government warns tech giants to comply or face $50m fines.
A comprehensive national ad campaign on Australia’s world-leading social media ban will begin later this week, less than two months before it comes into effect.
The “For the good” campaign will roll out from the weekend, aimed at promoting and raising awareness among parents and children before the restrictions – which will keep under 16s off TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, X, Facebook and YouTube – begin on December 10.
Communications Minister Anika Wells met with senior representatives from Meta, Snapchat and TikTok on Monday to lay down the law, remind them of the “reasonable steps” they must take, and stress the government’s expectation they comply.
She told them while the government did not expect perfection, it did not accept excuses, and would meet with YouTube later this week and X next month.
She said the education campaign would make a meaningful difference to help prepare Australian parents and their children for the world-first social media age laws, which followed News Corp Australia’s Let Them Be Kids campaign.
“The final report of the independent age assurance technology trial made clear that age assurance is practical and achievable,” she said.
“I want Australian parents and families to know the government has your back. Social media companies have a social responsibility.”
The government wants the social media companies to begin explaining to their users how they will enforce the age restrictions.
The regulatory guidance handed to the platforms last month outlined reasonable steps platforms will have to take from December 10, including being able to detect and deactivate existing underage accounts, prevent re-creation, and provide an accessible complaints process for users.
The platforms don’t have to use any one set of age-verification tools, but have been told to take a layered “waterfall” approach using a combination of minimally invasive methods.
The age of all users does not need to be verified and the platforms cannot solely rely on using government ID.
Social media companies face fines of up to $50m if they do not comply with the law.
YouTube parent company Google on Monday told a Senate inquiry the under-16s ban would be extremely difficult to enforce and could have unintended consequences.
In Ms Wells’ meeting with YouTube later this week, she is expected to make it known that they will need to comply.
Meanwhile, the company’s government affairs director Stefanee Lovett would not confirm nor deny whether Google was lobbying the Trump Administration on the matter ahead of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Washington next week.
“We’ve noted that the Australian Prime Minister will be travelling to the US next week, and we’ve talked to some of our colleagues about a range of issues that we’re dealing with in Australia at the moment, so that they understand the position,” Ms Lovett said.
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Originally published as Social media crackdown: Ad campaign to explain changes
