Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

Young people use social media apps on their mobile phones and computers as they attend  the forum, Keeping the Flame of Freedom Alive: Case Study of Percy Lapid Mabasa, at the CMC Auditorium Plaridel Hall UP Diliman Quezon City on October 3, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File

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Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1732841275542172596039781920231003-percy-lapid-forum-JC-0063.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Young people use social media apps on their mobile phones and computers as they attend  the forum, Keeping the Flame of Freedom Alive: Case Study of Percy Lapid Mabasa, at the CMC Auditorium Plaridel Hall UP Diliman Quezon City on October 3, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Young people use social media apps on their mobile phones and computers as they attend  the forum, Keeping the Flame of Freedom Alive: Case Study of Percy Lapid Mabasa, at the CMC Auditorium Plaridel Hall UP Diliman Quezon City on October 3, 2023. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><p>SYDNEY, Australia — Social media giants on Friday hit out at a landmark Australian law banning them from signing up under-16s, describing it as a rush job littered with &quot;many unanswered questions.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/world/2024/11/25/australia-to-ban-social-media-for-children-1750">Australia to ban social media for children</a></div><p>The UN children&#x27;s charity UNICEF Australia joined the fray, warning that it was no &quot;silver bullet&quot; and could push kids into &quot;covert and unregulated&quot; spaces online.</p><p>Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the ban may not be implemented perfectly -- much like existing alcohol restrictions -- but it was &quot;the right thing to do&quot;.</p><p>The crackdown on sites like Facebook, Instagram and X, approved by parliament late Thursday, will lead to &quot;better outcomes and less harm for young Australians&quot;, he told reporters.</p><p>Platforms have a &quot;social responsibility&quot; to make children&#x27;s safety a priority, the prime minister said.</p><p>&quot;We&#x27;ve got your back, is our message to Australian parents.&quot;</p><p>Social media firms that fail to comply with the law face fines of up to Aus$50 million (US$32.5 million).</p><p>Meta -- owner of Facebook and Instagram -- and other companies said that despite the law&#x27;s perceived shortcomings, they were keen to engage with the government on shaping how it would be implemented in 12 months.</p><p>&quot;We are concerned about the process, which rushed the legislation through while failing to properly consider the evidence, what industry already does to ensure age-appropriate experiences, and the voices of young people,&quot; Meta said in a statement.</p><div><strong>&#x27;UNANSWERED QUESTIONS&#x27;</strong></div><p>The legislation offers almost no details on how the rules will be enforced -- prompting concern among experts that it will simply be an unenforceable, symbolic piece of legislation.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/07/21/23/more-than-60-of-world-now-on-social-media-study">More than 60% of world now on social media: study</a></div><p>Meta called for consultation on the rules to ensure a &quot;technically feasible outcome that does not place an onerous burden on parents and teens&quot;.</p><p>A Snapchat spokesperson said the company had raised &quot;serious concerns&quot; about the law and there remained &quot;many unanswered questions&quot; about how it would work.</p><p>But the company said it would engage closely with government to develop an approach balancing &quot;privacy, safety and practicality&quot;.</p><p>&quot;As always, Snap will comply with any applicable laws and regulations in Australia,&quot; it said.</p><p>UNICEF Australia policy chief Katie Maskiell cautioned that the ban was not a &quot;silver bullet&quot;.</p><p>Young people need to be protected online but they also need to be included in the digital world, Maskiell said.</p><p>&quot;This ban risks pushing children into increasingly covert and unregulated online spaces as well as preventing them from accessing aspects of the online world essential to their wellbeing,&quot; she said.</p><div><strong>GLOBAL ATTENTION</strong></div><p>One of the biggest issues will be privacy -- what age-verification information is used, how it is collected and by whom.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/life/03/04/19/paano-mapoprotektahan-ang-anak-sa-social-media">Paano mapoprotektahan ang anak sa social media?</a></div><p>Social media companies remain adamant that age-verification should be the job of app stores, but the government believes tech platforms should be responsible.</p><p>Exemptions will likely be granted to some companies, such as WhatsApp and YouTube, which teenagers may need to use for recreation, school work or other reasons.</p><p>The legislation will be closely monitored by other countries, with many weighing whether to implement similar bans.</p><p>Lawmakers from Spain to Florida have proposed social media bans for young teens, although none of the measures have been implemented yet.</p><p>China has restricted access for minors since 2021, with under-14s not allowed to spend more than 40 minutes a day on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.</p><p>Online gaming time for children is also limited in China.</p><div><strong>—By Laura Chung, Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QpPZQGVwvBY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The UN children's charity UNICEF Australia warned that it was no "silver bullet" and could push kids into "covert and unregulated" spaces online.</p>

The UN children's charity UNICEF Australia warned that it was no "silver bullet" and could push kids into "covert and unregulated" spaces online.

Social media companies slam Australia's under-16 ban

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Social media companies slam Australia's under-16 ban

Agence France-Presse

Published November 29, 2024 10:17 AM PHT

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