Social Media Age Ban, Privacy Reforms Pass Senate in Controversial Session
Labour’s ban on children under 16 accessing social media has been passed, but many questions remain.
The federal government’s controversial legislation to ban children under the age of 16 from accessing social media platforms passed the Senate last night (November 28) at around 10 p.m. It is one of more than 30 bills passed by the Senate on its last sitting day for 2024.
The laws will not take effect for a full year and trials are currently underway to determine how best to implement the ban, but the bill’s passage has led to considerable and sometimes rancorous debate .
“It’s baby boomers trying to tell young people how the internet should work,” said Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young.
Senator Jacqui Lambie also criticized the bill, saying: “Some people thought it was a good idea until we looked at the details, and let’s be honest, there are no details. »
This lack of detail includes how age verification will work and what personal data this verification will be based on. Despite these and other concerns, Sunita Bose, Managing Director of the Digital Industry Group (DIGI), said DIGI was still willing to work with the government to explore answers to the many unanswered questions regarding the legislation.
“The legislation banning social media was published and passed within a week and, therefore, no one can explain with certainty how it will work in practice – the community and platforms do not know exactly what is being asked of them,” Bose . said.
“This law was passed despite advice from the Australian Human Rights Commissioner, the Children’s Commissioner, the Privacy Commissioner, 100 youth experts in an open letter to the Prime Minister and a coalition of mental health organizations. The consultation process must be robust to address their concerns.
“As DIGI and our members work to understand their compliance obligations under the law, we will work constructively with the government throughout the implementation period.”
Last night’s session also saw the passage of Privacy Act The amendment’s Children’s Online Privacy Code, which introduces a statutory offense for serious privacy breaches alongside an expansion of the Australian Information Commissioner’s investigative powers.
The bill also authorizes the development of an online privacy code for children and the requirement that privacy policies contain information about automated decision-making systems that may impact children’s rights. ‘an individual.
“These new powers and functions come at a critical time, as privacy breaches increase and the Australian community demands more power over their personal information,” Carly Kind, the Australian Privacy Commissioner, said in a press release on LinkedIn.
Sunita Bose of DIGI was much more supportive of these new laws.
“DIGI welcomes the passage this evening of laws that will enable an online privacy code for children, which will help improve the privacy of children and young people across a wide range of services,” Bose said.
“DIGI members offer privacy safeguards to minors, such as parental controls and strict privacy settings, and this law is an important step to encourage protection for a broader range of services.”
