Social media giants Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat said on October 28 that they will comply with Australia’s upcoming ban on social media users under the age of 16, according to a Reuters report.
However, TikTok’s owner ByteDance, Snapchat’s owner Snap, and the Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta stated in the Australian Parliament that they continue to believe the ban will not protect under-16 users.
This development comes at a time when all these social media companies have agreed to reach out to the owners of over a million underage accounts to prepare for the impending ban, which takes effect on December 10 in Australia.
For context, these platforms had previously argued that the ban would deprive young users of social contact and push them toward more dangerous corners of the internet that are not adequately monitored. They had also contended that implementing the ban would be unnecessarily complicated.
Interestingly, amid the ongoing debate in Australia, Snap and Google-owned YouTube have even argued that they are not social media companies in the first place.
What Did Social Media Companies Say?
Under Australia’s legal framework, social media platforms must take “reasonable steps” to block users under 16 or risk facing a fine of up to $32.5 million.
“We don’t agree, but we accept and we will abide by the law,” Jennifer Stout, Snap’s Senior Vice President of Global Policy and Platform Operations, told Reuters via video link.
Meanwhile, Meta’s Policy Director for Australia and New Zealand, Mia Garlick, said the company will soon reach out to account holders confirmed to be under 16 years of age. Meta will give these users a choice to either delete their photos and other data or allow the company to store them until they turn 16.
Elsewhere, TikTok and Snap, which claim to have 200,000 and 440,000 under-16 accounts, respectively, said they will undertake similar measures. The companies added that they will use automated behaviour-tracking software to determine whether an account holder claiming to be over 16 is actually underage.
“Where we identify someone that is saying they’re 25 but the behaviours would indicate that they’re below the age of 16, from December 10th we will have those accounts deactivated,” Ella Woods-Joyce, TikTok’s Public Policy Lead for Australia, said.
Notably, Meta and TikTok said they will refer users erroneously classified as under 16 to a third-party age estimation tool, while Snap stated that it is still working on a solution for users who believe they have been incorrectly prohibited.
Why It Matters
Social media companies agreeing to comply with Australia’s under-16 ban comes as the move gains international support, including from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
For context, von der Leyen called the ban “plain common sense” during an event on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York last…
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