Australia warns Meta, TikTok to prepare as under-16 ban approaches

By Angus Whitley

 

Meta Platforms Inc., Google, TikTok Inc. and other digital platforms have been told by Australia’s online safety regulator to prepare now for the country’s social-media ban for under-16s — three months out from when the law comes into force.

 

eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said Thursday she had written to the technology companies saying she expected them to get ready to deactivate accounts held by Australians who are under 16. Social-media companies should also stop under-age kids changing their account settings in a bid to get around the restriction, Inman Grant said. The law takes effect Dec 10.

 

“This is the time for companies to start mobilising and planning for implementation,” she said. 

 

The world-first legislation is a challenge for both Australian authorities and tech giants including Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram. The crackdown will serve as a test case as governments around the world grapple with ways to protect children from harmful content online.

 

The legislation has been widely opposed by platform owners, with some questioning whether a user’s age could be reliably established using current technology. But a trial funded by the Australian government last month concluded that checking a person’s age is possible now, and there are no significant technological barriers.

 

The letter from Inman Grant indicates she expects immediate compliance when the law comes into force. A self-declaration of age by the user will not be enough on its own, she told the social-media platforms. 

 

About 95 per cent of Australians aged between 10 and 15 years hold at least one social-media account, according to the eSafety Commissioner. 

 

“Many of these companies already use and deploy a range of viable age assurance methods today and we expect that efficacy will require layered safety measures,” she said.

 

Under the new law, digital platforms including Snapchat and X will be responsible for enforcing the age limit, with penalties of as much as A$50 million ($33 million) for breaches. An initial exemption for YouTube was reversed by Australia’s government in July.