Latest editorial
Australia's Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland, introduces the Online Safety Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra, November 21, 2024
AUSTRALIA’S House of Representatives passed a Bill yesterday to ban under-16s from social media, leaving it to the Senate to finalise the first law of its kind in the world.
Both major parties backed the Bill, which would make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to AUS50 million (£26m) for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts.
The legislation, which passed 102 to 13, is likely to become law later this week. Platforms will then have one year to work out how to implement the age restrictions before penalties are enforced.
Claims that digital media has rendered press power obsolete are a dangerous myth, argues DES FREEDMAN
Digital ID means the government could track anyone and then limit their speech, movements, finances — and it could get this all wrong, identifying the wrong people for the wrong reasons, as the numerous digital cockups so far demonstrate, warns DYLAN MURPHY