Google & Meta Want Australia To Put Social Media Ban For Children Under 16 Bill On Hold, Here's Why

Under the law, companies could face penalties of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million) for repeated violations if the Australian government passes this bill.

Australia is inching towards banning social media for minors who are under the age of 16 and social media giants are trying to counter it in any way that they can. Google and Facebook have now come forward with the demand of delaying the bill that will ban most forms of social media for children under the age of 16.

The reasoning that these giants are giving is that more time is needed to assess the potential impact of this ban. This controversial bill was presented in the Australian Parliament last week and was opened for submissions of opinions for only one day.

Social Media Platforms' Reasoning To Put This Bill On Hold

Google and Meta, in their respective submissions, said that the Australian government should wait for the results of an age verification trial before going ahead with this bill. The age-verification system might include biometrics or government identification to enforce a social media cut-off for the minors. Meta said, "In the absence of such results, neither industry nor Australians will understand the nature or scale of age assurance required by the bill, nor the impact of such measures on Australians."

TikTok, owned by Bytedance, expressed concerns that the bill lacked sufficient clarity and raised significant issues with the government's approach, citing the lack of detailed consultation with experts, social media companies, mental health organizations, and young people. It said, "Where novel policy is put forward, it's important that legislation is drafted in a thorough and considered way, to ensure it is able to achieve its stated intention. This has not been the case with respect to this Bill."

Elon Musk, who owns X, has also opposed this bill. Musk has said that this bill seems like a backdoor way to control access to the internet. 

The proposed legislation would place the responsibility for age-verification protections squarely on social media platforms, rather than on parents or children. Under the law, companies could face penalties of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million) for repeated violations. The opposition Liberal party is expected to back the bill, though some independent lawmakers have criticized the government for hastily pushing the legislation through in just about a week.

A Senate committee tasked with reviewing communications legislation is set to release its report on Tuesday.