Australia has tightened the measures to protect children online. The nation plans to double the maximum penalties for big tech giants that fail to enforce its social media ban for children under the age of 16, as per Reuters. This announcement was made on Saturday as concerns continue to grow that the law, introduced six months ago, has not been fully effective in keeping teenagers away from social media apps.
Along with higher penalties, the government also plans to give the country’s online safety regulator powers to investigate whether tech firms are following the rules.
Under the proposed changes,Australia’s eSafety Commissionerwill be able to demand more data from social media players about the steps they are taking to prevent children under 16 from creating accounts. The regulator will also be allowed to seek information from third parties, including age-verification providers and app stores, to check whether the platforms’ claims are accurate.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanaese noted that technology companies have not done enough to comply with the law despite growing global attention on Australia’s child safety measures. As per the government, more than five million accounts belonging to users under 16 have either been removed or restricted since the ban came into effect.
Reportedly, Australia’s Communications Minister Anika Wells accused social media companies of doing the minimum required to meet the law. She said updates from the eSafety Commissioner highlight that various platforms are relying on weak compliance measures instead of properly enforcing the rules.
It is also noteworthy that online discussion platform Reddit has challenged Australia's move to ban the social media ban in the country’s highest court. The platform argued that the law affects freedom of speech, while the Australian government has said it will defend the legislation.
Governments across the world are closely watching Australia'schild social media lawand are considering a similar path to protect children online. The UK has already announced plans to introduce even more stricter rules covering games and live-streaming platforms.
As more countries explore stricter online safety laws, Australia's experience is likely to influence how governments balance child protection, digital privacy, free speech and the responsibilities of major technology companies.
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Govind Choudhary is the Chief Copy Editor for Tech at Times Now with over five years of experience in the media industry. He covers consumer technolog...View More
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