The text, which obtained the green light from both houses of parliament and support from the main parties, should soon force these platforms to take “reasonable measures” to prevent these teenagers from having an account.
In the event of non-compliance with this obligation, fines of up to A$50 million (30.7 million euros) will apply.
Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, regretted that what the sector “already does to ensure age-appropriate experiences” was not taken into account, while ensuring that the law would be respected.
The text, denounced as “rushed”, “fuzzy” and “problematic” by several platforms, obtained the green light from the Australian Senate on Thursday, by 34 votes for and 19 against, after that of the Australian Lower House the day before, and its entry into force is beyond doubt.
The center-left Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, who is preparing for elections at the start of the year, championed this text, and called on parents of children to unite with this law.
Before the vote, he accused social networks of being “a platform for social pressure, a source of anxiety, a channel for scammers and, worst of all, a tool for online predators” and hoped that young Australians are “putting down their phones and instead finding themselves on the football fields, cricket pitches, tennis courts, volleyball courts or the swimming pool”.
The law will not make “social networks safer for young people”, said on the contrary an elected Australian environmentalist Sarah Hanson-Young during the debate in the Senate, who said she was “devastated” to see young people “addicted to these dangerous algorithms.
“I will find a way”
Young Australians are already saying they intend to circumvent this ban. “I will find a way, and my friends will do the same,” Angus Lydom, 12, who wants to continue being on social networks, told AFP: “It would be weird not to have them and not to be able to talk to my friends when I’m at home,” he says.
The same goes for Elsie Arkinstall, 11 years old, for whom social networks have their place, even for children, to watch, for example, baking or art tutorials. “You can’t learn all this from books,” she says.
On paper, Australia’s ban is one of the strictest in the world.
But the text provides almost no details on its terms of application, so much so that some experts have expressed doubts about the technical feasibility of this ban and wonder if it is not a text with symbolic significance. but inapplicable.
It will take at least a year before the law comes into force, time for Australian regulators to clarify the details relating to its application.
Meta expressed his determination that “the rules be applied systematically for all social media applications used by adolescents.”
Certain platforms such as WhatsApp and YouTube, which adolescents need to do their homework, should also be exempted.
Amendments have been made to the text to prevent users from having to produce their identity card to attest to their age.
Programs teaching children to think “critically” about what they see online should be adopted, like Finland, social media expert Susan Grantham told AFP.
The entry into force of this new legislation will be closely followed abroad, with several countries also considering implementing similar restrictions, such as Spain.
In the American state of Florida, a law is due to come into force in January to prohibit the opening of an account to under-14s but the practical arrangements have not been set.
China has restricted access for minors since 2021 and requires identification via an identity document. Those under 14 cannot spend more than 40 minutes a day on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and online gaming time for children and adolescents is limited.
