Australia has handed a legislation banning social media entry for kids beneath 16, implementing strict penalties on Meta Platforms, Inc. META, ByteDance-owned TikTok, and Snap Inc. SNAP.
What Happened: The Social Media Minimum Age Bill, authorized on Thursday, prohibits minors beneath 16 from accessing platforms equivalent to X, previously Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Snapchat.
Violations may lead to fines of as much as $32 million (AUD 49.5 million), reported Reuters.
YouTube, a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL Google, has been exempted from this ban as it’s broadly utilized in faculties.
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In their statements to the report, spokespersons for Meta and Snap expressed considerations in regards to the laws.
They additionally promised to adjust to the legal guidelines whereas participating intently with the federal government through the 12-month implementation interval.
Snapchat, Google, Met, and TikTok didn’t instantly reply to Benzinga’s request for feedback.
The legislation will bear a trial implementation section beginning January 2025, with full enforcement anticipated in 2026.
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Why It Matters: The laws has sparked a nationwide debate. Some proponents cite the necessity to fight the damaging psychological well being impacts of social media on younger folks.
Critics, nonetheless, argue it could infringe on younger customers’ rights, privateness, and entry to on-line help networks.
The ban additionally follows a collection of occasions that started with Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s feud with tech leaders like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.
Earlier in June, Musk’s X prevailed in a authorized dispute with the Australian authorities over its try to have footage of a church stabbing in Sydney eliminated.
During the identical month, Meta additionally warned that it may prohibit information content material in Australia if required to pay licensing charges.
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