Australians will not be forced to hand over government documents to verify their age to social media sellers under the ban on social media for under-16s, according to Communications Minister Michelle Rowland.

The controversial social media ban has raised privacy concerns after Australia said it would trial an age verification system that could use government identification documents and/or biometric data to ensure that ‘a user is overage before registering.

This would require social media platforms like Meta and X to collect this information for the verification process.

Several Labor MPs have reportedly expressed concerns internally about privacy issues surrounding the bill. Today, Minister Rowland promised that social media platforms would not be able to request personal documents to verify age.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton reportedly informed Liberal Party MPs that the party had negotiated the change.

Ahead of the amendment, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said part of the proposed legislation would force social media giants to delete data they have collected for verification purposes.

“There will be very strict privacy requirements to protect people’s personal information, including the obligation to destroy information provided once age is verified,” Prime Minister Albanese told the lower house.

In a previous written communication to the government, X expressed concerns about the legislation, particularly in its current form.

“There is no evidence that banning young people from social media will work, and putting it into law in the form proposed is highly problematic,” the document says.

“The Bill is vague and lacks fundamental definitions which are necessary to provide certainty and clarity to the providers it seeks to regulate, which is particularly alarming in the context where the Bill sets up a punitive regime.”

Additionally, X owner Elon Musk previously said the legislation could be a stepping stone toward government control over social media and internet access.

“This seems like a backdoor way to control access to the internet for all Australians,” Musk wrote in response to Albanese’s announcement of the legislation.

The Greens also called the rushed legislation baseless, going against previous findings.

“The government’s agreement with [Liberal leader Peter] Dutton, imposing an age ban on social media in less than a week is hasty, reckless and goes against the evidence,” Greens communications spokesperson Sarah Hanson-Young said. adding that a parliamentary inquiry into social media found “an age ban would not be enough”. social media is safer for everyone.”

“It is complicated to implement and will have unintended consequences for young people. »

Prime Minister Albanese’s comments on the data deletion are part of a broader clarification of some key points in the bill.

The Prime Minister clarified that the legislation would place “responsibility on social media companies, not on young people or their parents. We know that every law that applies to teenagers will be tested by teenagers. We are not looking to penalize young people who try their luck. The penalties under this law apply to social media companies that fail to do enough and allow systemic violations.”

Prime Minister Albanese also said there were a number of exemptions and that under-16s would still be able to access “health and education-related services” like Google Classroom, Headspace and YouTube, as well as ‘online games and messaging services. .

He also recognized that this legislation was a world first.

“I’ve seen people point out that this hasn’t been done anywhere else in the world yet. This is true, but I also know that every serious government in the world is grappling with this problem and seeking action,” he said.

“When it comes to the wellbeing of our young people, I don’t want Australia to wait for the rest of the world; I want Australia to be one of the leading nations in the world.

“Similarly, I’ve seen people say that the law won’t solve everything and that it won’t work in every situation. That’s correct. It is not possible to have a perfect law in an area like this, linked to technology, that will work 100%. 100, perfectly, 100 p. But we cannot make perfection an obstacle to action.

“In many ways, one of the great values ​​of this law is the message it sends and the support it provides to parents across Australia who feel lost and worried about where this is all going to end. It’s for the parents of a young boy or girl who comes home and says, “My friend who I sit next to in class has access to all of this; why not ?

“It’s a tool for parents to work with their sons or daughters. This will be an important tool for parents who worry about their children, as we all do, from the day they are born. It never stops.