One of the country’s most prolific advocates for social media reform has welcomed legislation to impose a minimum age limit on social media access, hailing it as a step in the right direction and a win for parents and law enforcement.
Andrew Wallace MP, Deputy Chair of Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee and a leading advocate for mental health, expresses strong support for the Online Safety Bill finally being introduced to Parliament today. This significant legislation aims to set a minimum age limit for social media use, a crucial step towards protecting young Australians online.
The proposed legislation mandates that social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and X, take reasonable steps to prevent individuals under the age of 16 from creating accounts. Failure to comply with these regulations could result in fines of up to $50 million for the tech giants.
Andrew Wallace MP stated, “It’s not very often you have a really good win in opposition. But today is one of those days. Today, the government is announcing the introduction of the social media reform bill, the biggest item on the agenda will be age restrictions. It had to be 16 and over to access social media. We think that’s a good thing. We’ve been fighting for this for a very, very long time.”
The Coalition, led by Peter Dutton, has been at the forefront of the national debate on social media age limits. In June, the Coalition committed to implementing an age limit of 16 for social media access. This issue is of paramount importance to Australian families, and it is well past time that decisive action is taken.
“The Government has been painfully slow to act on this.”
The Coalition announced social media reform more than 12 months ago. Peter Dutton has done a great job in leading government policy from opposition, as has David Coleman, the shadow communications minister. I’m really proud to have worked with them on this result,” Mr Wallace continued.
Andrew Wallace and other Coalition Committee Members on the Social Media Reform Select Committee, have made bold recommendations to ensure the safety of children and hold big tech accountable.
These recommendations include:
- Strict Age Verification: Implementing robust age verification processes to prevent underage users from accessing social media platforms.
- Substantial Penalties: Imposing significant penalties, on tech companies that fail to comply with the age limit regulations.
- Enhanced Privacy Protections: Ensuring that the legislation includes clear and strong privacy protections to safeguard the personal information of young users.
- Regular Audits and Compliance Checks: Conducting regular audits and compliance checks to ensure that social media platforms are adhering to the regulations.
- Algorithm Reform: Embedding user controls and transparency measures to limit infinite scroll, autoplay, and persuasive design features which feed addictions.
“I’m really pleased to see also that the government has had a change of heart in ensuring that Snapchat, who is one of the most egregious violators of keeping kids safe online, will now be caught under this regime. So, it’s a good thing.”
