Albanese’s social media laws make front cover of Time as he and Dutton won’t change laws to curry favour with Trump
Australia’s world first laws to protect children online have made the cover of one of the globe’s biggest magazines.
Australia’s world first social media laws to protect children online have made the cover of one of the world’s biggest international magazines.
Time Magazine, which also has an interview with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, has chosen our social media laws to put on its front cover and posted an image of its new front cover saying: “In December, Australia will implement a 16-year-old age limit for users of platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X. The law is the first of its kind in the world.
“While most platforms have a self-imposed age limit of 13, enforcement is laughable; kids can simply input a false date of birth. Rather than targeting underage kids, the Australian law will punish companies that fail to introduce adequate safeguards with fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($31 million) for as yet undefined “systemic breaches.” (The precise details of how and when these fines will be imposed have yet to be made clear.) In other words, Australia will flip the equation: instead of relying on users to truthfully disclose their ages, it will put the burden on the world’s tech giants.
“It’s a bold move, directly targeting some of the world’s most influential companies run by its richest and most powerful men, including X owner Elon Musk—who has dubbed the Albanese government “fascists” and the age restriction “a backdoor way to control access to the internet by all Australians.”
“For its proponents, however, the law is a critical first step toward checking social media’s toxic influence on children.”
The laws are not up for negotiation with the Trump administration as Mr Albanese and Peter Dutton take a stand despite mounting pressure from US tech giants.
The Prime Minister and Opposition leader were emphatic new laws restricting social media use to age 16 and over, as well as a news bargaining code designed to ensure companies compensate media outlets for journalism content on their platforms were not up for debate with Donald Trump.
American tech platforms have been dialling up their attacks on Australia’s historic safety laws, which were included on a list of trade grievances released shortly before the US President announced sweeping tariffs on every country in the world, including a 10 per cent hit on Australian exports.
But on Thursday Mr Albanese unequivocally ruled out repealing the social media age limit, which is due to take effect in December this year, or tinkering with the news code, as part of trade talks with Mr Trump.
“Our position is not up for negotiation, whether it be the news media bargaining code, or whether it be the social media legislation, which is world leading,” he said.
Mr Albanese said talking to families who had lost loved ones due to online bullying and other harms had reinforced his belief the laws were critical to the safety of Australian children.
“I had a discussion with Kelly O’Brien about the loss of her daughter, Charlotte, she lives in the inner west of Sydney, and I’ve met with Kelly personally after she wrote to me,” he said.
“If you speak to a parent who has lost their child, you cannot help but act.”
Mr Albanese said he believed adults had a “responsibility” to “respond what is going on” in terms of the bullying, eating disorder and self harm and other harms fuelled by addictive social media algorithms and a lack of duty of care shown by big tech platforms.
“After we announced our position, I’ve got to say, when I attended after that G20 and APEC (global summits), there was a lot of interest from our world leaders in what they’re doing,” he said.
Mr Dutton also said Australia’s social media restrictions and news code would not be traded away to curry favour with the Trump administration to gain exemptions on US tariffs.
“We’re not negotiating on that basis,” he said.
Mr Dutton said he had “fought for a long time for kids to be safe online” going back to the Obama administration and previous Trump administration when he worked with their attorneys general to address online safety concerns.
“I want to make sure that we can put in place a safe environment where our kids can go online, mix with their friends, and live a safe life,” he said.
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