TikTok, Snapchat and Meta finally reveal plans for under-16 social media freeze
Social media giants have finally bowed to Australia's under-16 ban as the Let Them Be Kids campaign scores another big win. ALL THE DETAILS
Children on TikTok and Snapchat will have their content archived and their accounts frozen from mid-December, while Instagram and Facebook accounts will be either temporarily paused, deactivated or deleted.
After months of resisting Australia’s world leading under-16 social media ban, the platforms confirmed they would be complying come December 10 in a tense senate inquiry where TikTok was accused of intimidating a senator’s staff.
Nationals senator Ross Cadell labelled TikTok a “bullying behemoth” as he said an employee of the video platform had called his office last month while he was in a previous hearing related to the incoming legislation.
“They accused me of doing things I hadn’t done, they said my line of questioning was unacceptable, that they had a good relationship with the leader’s office and with the shadow minister’s office and they didn’t appreciate what I was doing,” he told this masthead.
He said TikTok had then gotten his staff member’s mobile number and texted her an apology but “only after they knew they were coming back before the inquiry”.
When he put the accusations to TikTok in the senate on Tuesday, public policy lead Ella Woods-Joyce said she wasn’t aware of the matter but staff “need to operate professionally and appropriately at all times”. She said the platform was “absolutely not” a bully.
Mr Cadell said social media platforms were “acting as if they have no consequence, and as if we don’t have any right to govern them”.
The government is prepared to hand down fines of up to $49.5 million from December 10 if the social media platforms do not enforce the law, which follows News Corp Australia’s Let Them Be Kids campaign.
Underage users on Snapchat and TikTok will be able to archive their existing posts as part of the process of freezing these accounts, the platforms confirmed on Tuesday. Teen TikTok users will have the choice to deactivate their account, suspend it, or fully delete it.
Snapchat will make a “Download my Data” tool available to teen users, which vice president Jennifer Stout said would “secure photos and communications before accounts are disabled and lost”.
Snapchat said it would verify a users’ age in “the most privacy protective way possible, but it would require the user to provide identification, indicating that they are 16 and above, go through a series of steps, and then they would then have access to their account”.
Meta users will have the option to pause, deactivate or delete their accounts, but policy director Mia Garlick said its platforms, including Instagram and Facebook, are “still working through the precise wording and flows”.
“So we’re looking through a range of different options, but making sure that there is very clear notice to young people and their parents so they can take the actions that work best for them.”
Meta says the age limit will be enforced via third-party platform Yoti, which gives users the option of a video selfie or providing government identification.
The platforms said there would be teething issues given the incoming ban is the first of its kind, which has inspired Europe and New Zealand to follow Australia’s lead.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said the government was not expecting perfection, but “we are expecting social media platforms to understand and comply with their legal and social responsibilities and to make a meaningful difference”.
Originally published as TikTok, Snapchat and Meta finally reveal plans for under-16 social media freeze
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