Meta urges Australia to rethink social media ban

Meta Urges Australia to Rethink Social Media Ban for Under-16s

Australia’s world-first social media ban for under-16s has prompted Meta to call for a rethink, as the tech giant reports blocking over 544,000 accounts under the new law. The legislation, which came into effect on December 10, requires big platforms, including Meta, TikTok, and YouTube, to prevent underage users from holding accounts. Companies face fines of Aus$49.5 million (US$33 million) if they fail to comply.

Meta has removed 331,000 underage accounts from Instagram, 173,000 from Facebook, and 40,000 from Threads in the week to December 11. The company has committed to complying with the law but argues that a blanket ban may not be the most effective approach. Instead, Meta suggests that the Australian government should work with the industry to find alternative solutions, such as incentivizing companies to provide safe and age-appropriate online experiences.

The company has renewed its call for app stores to verify users’ ages and obtain parental approval before allowing under-16s to download apps. This, Meta believes, is the only way to avoid a “whack-a-mole” situation where teens migrate to new apps to evade the ban. The Australian government, however, maintains that social media companies must take responsibility for the harm they cause young Australians and use their data to comply with the law.

Meta has expressed concerns that the ban may isolate young people from online communities and drive them to less regulated apps and darker corners of the internet. The company argues that the initial impacts of the legislation suggest it is not meeting its objectives of increasing the safety and well-being of young Australians. To address these concerns, Meta has helped found the OpenAge Initiative, a non-profit group that has launched age-verification tools called AgeKeys to be used with participating platforms.

The Australian government’s move to hold social media companies accountable for the harm they cause young people is part of a broader effort to regulate the tech industry. As the debate continues, Meta’s call for a rethink of the social media ban highlights the need for a nuanced approach to online safety and age verification. With the company’s compliance with the Australian law being a “multilayered process,” the outcome of this debate will have significant implications for the tech industry and online communities worldwide.