MELBOURNE, Australia— Australia’s House of Representatives has passed a bill banning the use of social media by children under 16 and sent it to the Senate to finalize the world’s first law.
Major parties have backed a bill that would make platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to A$50 million ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent minors have accounts.
The legislation passed 102-13 on Wednesday. If the bill becomes law, platforms will have a year to decide what age restrictions they want to implement before sanctions are imposed.
Opposition lawmaker Dan Tehan told parliament the government had agreed to accept amendments in the Senate that would strengthen privacy protections. Platforms cannot force users to provide proof of identity, including a passport or driver’s license, and cannot apply for a digital identity through a government system.
“Will it be perfect? No. But is any law perfect? No no. But if it helps, even if it helps in the slightest, it will make a big difference in people’s lives,” Tehan said. parliament.
The bill was introduced to the Senate on Wednesday night, but was tabled hours later without a vote. The legislation is likely to be approved on Thursday, in the last parliamentary session of the year and possibly the last before elections due in months.
The major parties support everything except ensuring the legislation passes the Senate, where no party has a majority.
Deputies who did not agree with the government or the opposition were most critical of this law in the debates on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Criticisms include that the legislation, rushed through parliament without proper review, will not work, creates privacy risks for users of all ages, and takes away parents’ authority to make the best decisions for their children.
Critics also argue that the ban isolates children, deprives them of the positive aspects of social media, lures them to the dark web, makes children too young to report harm on social media, and discourages platforms from remove online space. .
Independent representative Zoe Daniel said the bill “would make no difference to the harm inherent in social media.”
“The real purpose of this bill is not to make social media safe by design, but to make parents and voters feel that the government is doing something about it,” Daniel told parliament.
“There is a reason why the government is promoting this law as a world leader because no other country wants to do it,” he said.
The platforms have asked that the vote be postponed at least until June next year, when the Government gives the order. assessment Age Assurance Technologies has produced its own report on how to obtain a ban.
Melbourne resident Wayne Holdsworth, whose 17-year-old son Mack died last year after falling victim to an online scam, described the bill as “absolutely vital to the safety of our children”.
“It’s not the only thing we need to do to protect them, because education is key, but providing immediate help to our children and parents to handle this is a big step,” the 65-year-old said. an online safety advocate told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
McGuirk escribe para Associated Press.
