Social media ban: Australia puts tech giants on notice
Communications Minister Anika Wells has warned US tech giants Australia will not back down from its under-16 social media ban during high-stakes meetings in New York.
EXCLUSIVE: Communications Minister Anika Wells has warned American tech giants Australia will not back down from its commitment to a social media ban for under-16s, putting them on notice during meetings in New York to prepare for the looming December 10 deadline.
It came as she and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese prepared to address a United Nations conference on Australia’s world-leading child online safety laws alongside high-profile speakers, including the European Union President and the Prime Minister of Greece who are considering implementing similar restrictions.
Asked about Australia’s commitment to the laws in light of Donald Trump’s criticism of countries that regulate American big tech companies, both Mr Albanese and Ms Wells both declared Australia was a sovereign nation and would determine its own policies.
The Australian government will soon roll out an advertising campaign to educate parents and children on the new laws.
Ms Wells said she had been bolstered by the global interest in Australia’s legislation and hoped other countries followed suit.
“I think there’s no dispute that these laws are really important, but when you’re the first to do anything, there’s always a risk that you’re going to not land it in a way that gives confidence to everybody else,” she said.
“And I think what is gratifying is that there is enough confidence in the why, the how, what we are doing, that there is so much interest from other countries about how they might replicate the same benefit for kids in their own country.”
The Australian government committed to the social media ban for kids under 16 following News Corp Australia’s Let Them Be Kids Campaign, which advocated for an age limit to reduce the devastating harms being caused to children online.
Australian mum Emma Mason will represent Let Them Be Kids at the UN where she will tell world leaders about her beloved daughter Matilda “Tilly” Rosewarne, who died after being bullied on social media.
During her trip to New York, Ms Wells met with tech giants to discuss the looming restrictions and said she had received mixed reactions but stood firm against criticism.
“I felt like the why was clearly understood,” she said.
“But I guess it is still a matter of putting the case to tech giants that operate in other countries and show them that I’m not moving on this. We will do this.”
Ms Wells said compliance and timelines of account shutdowns could look different between platforms. Some could be switched off from midnight on December 10 and others staggered across 24 hours or more.
The government has stressed the importance of tech platforms having proper dispute mechanisms for those inadvertently caught up in the switch off.
The minister said she was confident social media companies had the ability to prevent underage kids from circumventing the rules.
“As we all know, tech giants can target with deadly precision who we are and what we do for the purposes of advertising revenue, so it is reasonable to expect them to use that same know-how to keep kids safe online,” she said.
In his speech at the UN overnight, Mr Albanese is expected to describe how Australia’s laws will give children three more crucial years to build resilience and real world connections.
“Three more years to get better at spotting the fakes and the dangers. At learning the difference between online followers and real friends. And at becoming more adept at avoiding the pressures of measuring themselves against impossible standards,” he says.
“Three more years of being shaped by real life experience, not algorithms. And developing the increased maturity and the perspective that will allow them to shrug off what, a couple of years earlier, might have felt overwhelming.
“It’s the right thing to do by children, and it is the right thing to do by parents.”
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Originally published as Social media ban: Australia puts tech giants on notice
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