Australia’s Social Media Ban for Under 16s to Become Law

Australia’s social media ban for children under the age of 16 will become law after passing the Senate, the upper house of Parliament, even as questions linger over how the new restrictions will be implemented. Under the new laws, which are scheduled to come into effect in about one year, children in Australia under the age of 16 will be banned from setting up accounts on popular social media sites including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Labor government joined with the center-right Liberal-National Opposition to pass the legislation, brushing aside concerns from lawmakers on both sides of parliament over the speed at which the bills had been enacted. The restrictions are expected to be among the strictest in the world. Tech companies themselves will be responsible for enforcing the ban, with the threat of fines of up to A$50 million ($32.4 million) if they fail to take action. The legislation does not specify how the sites will verify the age of users.