Australia has implemented one of the strictest social media regulations globally, prohibiting children under 16 from accessing social media platforms. This law requires social media companies to verify users' ages, with hefty fines imposed on non-compliance. While the law aims to protect children, it has sparked debate regarding free speech and potential consequences of driving youth to unregulated online spaces.
Julie Inman Grant, Australia's top internet regulator, will be enforcing one of the strictest social media crackdowns in the world. Provided by the Australian eSafety Commission, one of the strictest internet crackdowns in the world last month, banning children under 16 from being on social media or opening new accounts. The law, which takes effect a year from now, holds social media companies responsible for verifying kids' ages. Not complying could trigger fines up to nearly $50 million.
The law came over the objections of social media companies, which have criticized it as a form of free speech suppression. Tech companies have also argued that blocking kids from being on social media will drive them to darker, less regulated corners of the internet.The law's passage comes as scrutiny intensifies in Washington over legislating online safety protections for children, with proposals under debate that would hold platforms responsible for exposing young users to dangerous, hateful or toxic content online. From Silicon Valley to state capitals, all eyes are on how Australia's law will be implemented, and the person tasked with enforcing the law is Julie Inman Grant, Australia's eSafety Commissioner, the country's top internet regulator. NPR spoke with Grant about what led to the social media ban, what enforcement looks like and how her agency plans to address the unintended consequences of criminalizing the use of social media for kids under 16.For our American audience, can you just explain what the eSafety Commission does?The eSafety Commission was set up nine years ago, in 2015, and has been the first online safety regulator in the world. Part of our function is to provide research, prevention, education — and then we've got complaint schemes for kids who are being cyberbullied. For all Australians who've experienced image-based abuse with the non-consensual sharing of deepfakes and intimate images, for instanc
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