On November 7, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the presentation of a law to prohibit access to social networks to minors under 16 years of ageand a crackdown on big tech companies, which he says are not adequately protecting vulnerable users.
“It’s a law for mothers and fathers worried about their children’s safety,” he told reporters. “Social networks are bad for children”.
Albanese had already announced an intervention on the matter in September, but the minimum age had not been established.
The Labor prime minister said the bill would be presented to Australian state and territory leaders this week, before being submitted to parliament at the end of the month.
“Technology companies and social networks will have the responsibility to verify the age of users,” Albanese said. “If they don’t do it they will be fined.” “However, there are no sanctions for users”he added.
Albanese stressed that the algorithms used by social networks do not prevent children and adolescents from accessing inappropriate content. “Even things appear on my phone that I don’t want to see, and I’m not a vulnerable child,” he said.
The platforms will have one year to prepare for the implementation of the law.
However, some experts have questioned the technical applicability of an age limit.
“Current age verification methods are unreliable because they are too easy to circumvent or put users’ privacy at risk,” said Toby Murray, a researcher at the University of Melbourne.
In September, Canberra introduced a bill to combat disinformation.
In particular, the text provides for the imposition of fines of up to 5 percent of annual turnover on technology companies that do not comply with their obligations in this regard.
The social network X, owned by Elon Musk, is currently involved in a legal battle with Australian authorities over the moderation of violent content.
Source: International
