Reuters, Sydney, November 25 Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Monday that social media companies would have to delete user age verification data as part of what the government claims is a global ban on under-16s using the platforms.
In an effort to enforce a social media age cut-off—some of the strictest regulations implemented by any nation to date—Australia intends to test an age-verification system that might incorporate biometrics or official identification."There will be very strong and strict privacy requirements to protect people's personal information, including an obligation to destroy information provided once age has been verified," Albanese told lawmakers on Monday.
Meta Platforms (META.O) might be impacted by the laws, which opens a new tab A new tab is opened by Instagram and Facebook, Bytedance's TikTok, and Elon Musk's X and Snapchat (SNAP.N).
Musk, among others, has criticized them, claiming on Friday that the law is a backdoor attempt to restrict internet access for all Australians.
The proposed age limit is the maximum that any nation has established, and it would not be exempt for pre-existing accounts or parental agreement. If platforms don't follow the law, they might be fined up to $32 million.
The government has stated that it intends to expedite the bill's passage through both the upper and lower houses of parliament in order to have it become law by the end of the parliamentary year on Thursday.
Musk, among others, has criticized them, claiming on Friday that the law is a backdoor attempt to restrict internet access for all Australians.
The proposed age limit is the maximum that any nation has established, and it would not be exempt for pre-existing accounts or parental agreement. If platforms don't follow the law, they might be fined up to $32 million.
The government has stated that it intends to expedite the bill's passage through both the upper and lower houses of parliament in order to have it become law by the end of the parliamentary year on Thursday.
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