In 2024 Australia passed a law that bans individuals under 16 years of age from using social media platforms, making it the first country to implement such a ban. The law, which was drafted in response to concerns about the mental health impact of social media on young Australians, will take effect 12 months after its passage. From late 2025, Australians must be over 16 to use social media
Social media companies will be required to take reasonable steps to prevent minors from accessing their platforms and could face fines of up to $49.5 million for non-compliance.
The ban applies to prominent platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and others, but excludes YouTube due to its significant educational purpose.
A trial of methods to enforce it will start in January [2025] with the ban to take effect in a year. Reuters
But the effectiveness of age verification technology is under question due to the possibility of workarounds.
The Australian Digital ID Act 2024 will emphasized as a method to enforce the ban on social media but that means everyone, even those over 16 years old, will need to use a Digital ID to gain access to social media.
However an amendment to the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 means that a provider must also give people an alternative method of identification so that no Australian will be forced to use government identification, including Digital ID, for age assurance on social media platforms. Instead, there must always be a non-government or non-Digital ID option available to Australians for age assurance on each relevant platform.
Digital rights activists and academics have raised concerns about the potential for mass surveillance and privacy violations associated with the implementation of such a system. One digital rights activist expressed that banning people under 16 from using social media would not work and would lead to a system to monitor internet usage at a whole population scale. That is mass surveillance.
Queensland Nationals Senator Matt Canavan queried why Digital ID should be allowable as a “means of identification at all”.
“It’s not in widespread use, so why don’t we just rule that out right now,” he said.
“If it’s something that comes into use in years to come, we can always change the law. There’s a review built into this law in two years’ time, we can do it then.
“If we were serious about responding to the concerns about Digital ID, let’s just get rid of it.” Reuters
The government is currently testing various age assurance technologies, including facial scans and biometric verification, to determine the most effective method for age verification. However, the decision on which method to use ultimately lies with the politicians.
Some critics argue that the social media ban and the associated digital ID system are a backdoor approach to implementing broader digital ID controls, potentially infringing on human rights and freedoms.
I personally will not be lining up for a Digital ID. No way!
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