Page 14 - Australia

TikTok, Meta brace for Australian social media ban for those under 16

A number of other nations and US states have attempted to curb children's access to social media, with limited success

Australia bans social media ban for under-16s with world-first law

A social media ban for children under 16 passed the Australian Parliament on Friday in a world-first law. The law will make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent children younger than 16 from holding accounts. The Senate passed the bill on Thursday 34 votes to 19. The House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved the legislation by 102 votes to 13. The House on Friday endorsed opposition amendments made in the Senate, making the bill law. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the law supported parents concerned by online harms to their children. Platforms now have a social responsibility to ensure the safety of our kids is a priority for them, Albanese told reporters. The platforms have one year to work out how they could implement the ban before penalties are enforced. Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said the

Australia passes law to impose ban on social media for children under 16

The law forces tech giants from Instagram and Facebook owner Meta to TikTok to stop minors logging in or face fines of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million)

Australian Senate debates first social media ban for children under 16

The Australian Senate was debating a ban on children younger than 16 years old from social media Thursday after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly supported the age restriction. The bill that would make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to A$ 50 million (USD 33 million) for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts. It is likely to be passed by the Senate on Thursday, the Parliament's final session for the year and potentially the last before elections, which are due within months. The major parties' support for the ban all but guarantees the legislation will become law. But many child welfare and mental health advocates are concerned about unintended consequences. Unaligned Sen Jacqui Lambie complained about the limited amount of time the government gave the Senate to debate the age restriction, which she described as undercooked. I thought this was a good idea. A lot of people out there

Australia draws the line: New bill bans social media for children under 16

Australian parliament passes strict new rules: Social media platforms will face fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars if they fail to prevent children under 16 from holding accounts

JSW Steel, SAIL seek Mongolian coking coal imports amid high steel demand

JSW Steel plans to purchase 2,500 metric tons, while SAIL aims to secure 75,000 metric tons of coking coal from Mongolian

JSW Steel, SAIL in discussions with Mongolia for coking coal shipments

JSW Steel, the country's biggest steelmaker by capacity, plans to buy 2,500 metric tons, while SAIL aims to import 75,000 metric tons of the steelmaking raw material from Mongolia

$368 bn question: Will Trump renegotiate the AUKUS treaty or walk away?

This illustrates the enduring Australian government support for AUKUS and its centrality to our defence planning, as well as the significant concern this enthusiasm is not shared by Trump or his team

Meta, TikTok, Google oppose Australia's proposed under-16 social media ban

In submissions to the Senate inquiry, tech companies warned of unintended, negative consequences from the rapidly-drafted laws

Social media platforms urge Australia to delay ban on children under 16

An advocate for major social media platforms told an Australian Senate committee Monday that laws to ban children younger than 16 from the sites should be delayed until next year at least instead of being rushed through the Parliament this week. Sunita Bose, managing director of Digital Industry Group Inc., an advocate for the digital industry in Australia including X, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, was answering questions at a single-day Senate committee hearing into world-first legislation that was introduced into the Parliament last week. Bose said the Parliament should wait until the government-commissioned evaluation of age assurance technologies is completed in June. Parliament is asked to pass a bill this week without knowing how it will work, Bose said. The legislation would impose fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) on platforms for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts. It seems likely to be passed by Parliament by Thur

Australia rejects Musk's claim about govt plans to control internet access

An Australian Cabinet minister on Friday rejected X Corp owner Elon Musk's allegation that the government intended to control all Australians' access to the internet through legislation that would ban young children from social media. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Musk's criticism was unsurprising after the government introduced to Parliament on Thursday legislation that would fine platforms including X up to 150 million Australian dollars ($133 million) if they allow children under age 16 to hold social media accounts. The idea that Elon Musk is not delighted with our steps to try and protect kids online is not an especially big surprise to us, nor does it trouble us greatly, Chalmers told reporters. The spat continues months of open hostility between the Australian government and the tech billionaire over regulators' efforts to reduce public harm from social media. Parliament could pass legislation as soon as next week that would oblige X, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit and ...

Adani's Australian coal unit faces human rights complaint for racism

Complaint details how Adani employees verbally and physically obstruct and prevent 'members of the Aboriginal group from accessing springs near Adani's Carmichael coal mine' to perform cultural rites

Elon Musk blasts Australia's proposed law to ban social media for children

Australia plans to try an age-verification system to enforce a social media age cut-off, some of the toughest controls imposed by any country to date

India, Australia sign air-to-air refuelling agreement for defence

Australia's minister for defence industry, Pat Conroy, and India's minister for defence, Rajnath Singh, announced the arrangement during bilateral discussions on Thursday

Isro, Australian space agency sign cooperation pact for human space flight

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Thursday said it has signed an Implementation Agreement (IA) with Australian Space Agency (ASA) for further strengthening of cooperation in space activities between the two countries. The IA enables cooperation between both space agencies on crew and crew module recovery for Gaganyaan missions, the country's first crewed spaceflight program, it said. The IA was signed by D K Singh, Director, Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) on ISRO's side at Bengaluru and Jarrod Powell, General Manager, Space Capability Branch, on ASA's side at Canberra on November 20, the space agency said in a statement. ISRO has embarked on the Human Spaceflight ("Gaganyaan") programme with an objective of demonstrating capability to carryout Low Earth Orbit in an Indian Crew Module with up to three crew members onboard, for up to three days and to safely recover the module. The IA enables the Australian authorities to work with Indian authorities to ensure support fo

Australia introduces world-first social media ban for children under 16

Australia's policy sets the highest age restriction on social media globally, surpassing France's recent ban on under-15s, which allowed exceptions with parental consent

Social media giants to pay fines worth $32 million under Australia ban

Australia is following a number of other countries that have attempted to restrict access to social media for children, with mixed success

BGT 2024: Pitch perfect battle Down Under as cricket's heavyweights pad up

Can the Border-Gavaskar Trophy claim the title of cricket's 'premier rivalry'? The jury's still out

India, Australia firm up clean energy partnership; pushing mega trade pact

India and Australia sealed an ambitious renewable energy partnership and set their eyes on a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese vowed to significantly ramp up overall bilateral ties. A raft of issues including ways to boost ties in areas of defence and security ties, mobility, science and technology and education figured prominently at the second India-Australia annual conclave held on the sidelines of the G20 summit late on Tuesday. The two leaders also looked forward to a long-term vision of defence and security collaboration to enhance collective strength, contribute to both countries' security, and make an important contribution to regional peace and security, according to a joint statement. The Renewable Energy Partnership (REP) would provide the framework for practical cooperation in priority areas such as solar energy, green hydrogen, energy storage, investments in related projects and .

New Zealand may charge visitors to tourist sites; govt seeks feedback

The government is seeking feedback on a range of proposals to modernise how it manages these areas, Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said Friday in Wellington