Australia has become the first country to restrict social media access for children under 16. Jatin Grover looks at how the new law plans to enforce the ban, whether such gatekeeping is realistic and the comparable laws in India
What does the new law say?
The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 by Australia puts the onus on social media companies to prevent children below the age of 16 from accessing their platforms. The ban, to be implemented after one year, will make social media platforms such as X, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, etc, liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($32.5 million) if they fail to prevent children under 16 from creating accounts. The aim is protect children from the detrimental effects of social media. While there have been attempts globally to restrict social media use by children, experts say the minimum age of 16 is the highest set by any country. So far, 13 years was the minimum age set by these platforms to get access to social media. “There are age restrictions for certain social media platforms. A provider of such a platform must take reasonable steps to prevent children who have not reached a minimum age from having accounts,” the Bill said. Messaging apps, online gaming platforms, and educational services will be exempt from the ban.
What was the need for such a law?
The rationale behind the move is to protect youngsters during critical stages of their development. The legislation is needed to protect young people from the “harms” of social media such as online bullying, something many parent groups have echoed, BBC quoted Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as saying. According to some experts, the increase in smartphone screen-times for children, especially for using social media platforms, makes them vulnerable to being anxious and depressed. Besides, there are certain age-restricted content, which are on social media platforms and expose children to the same.
In India, per a LocalCircles study, 6 in 10 parents claim some OTT and social media platforms show inappropriate ads during content marked for all audiences or children. One of the concerns is also related to false age registration by users and lack of verification of the same by platforms. Per the Advertising Standards Authority in India, at least 11% of children’s social media accounts are registered as an adult’s account.
How will the age of users be verified?
User age verification has been the primary challenge for such gatekeeping. For the same, Australia will rely on age-verification technology for which it will soon test some of the options, so that the restrictions can be implemented. The onus will be on the social media platforms to add these methods of age-verification. Australian minister of communications Michelle Rowland said, “Over the next 12 months, we’ll work closely with industry and experts to ensure the minimum age is effectively implemented, informed by the findings of the Age Assurance Technology Trial currently underway.” Currently, social media websites such as Instagram require users to provide their date of birth and meet the age criteria to create an account. Some platforms do ask for government-verified IDs to verify the age of users. Owing to data privacy concerns, the Bill, however, bars usage of government identification (including Digital ID) for age assurance on social media. Once the law comes into effect, it would require platforms to destroy personal information, which is collected to prevent age-restricted users from creating accounts.
Big Tech’s views on the ban
Some experts say the ban is too strict to address the risks associated with social media use. There are concerns that the same could push children into those areas of the internet which would cause more harm to them.
Big Tech companies and industry groups say they are clueless about how such a law will be implemented. “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,” Meta said in a statement. Platforms have also questioned whether the restrictions would be compatible with international regulations. Elon Musk has said that it seems like “a backdoor way to control access to the Internet.” Further, a failure of such a law is also not ruled out, given that a ban can be bypassed by using a virtual private network (VPN).
How it works in India & elsewhere
In India, there are no specific laws protecting children from the harms of social media. However, India’s Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, requires social media companies to seek verifiable consent from parents of children under 18 years of age, before processing their personal data. It also prohibits companies from processing data that could harm a child’s well-being, or from tracking children’s online behaviour. It also prohibits targeted advertising directed at children.
In the US, the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) requires parental consent for websites to collect personal information from children under 13. In the European Union, parental consent is required for the processing of personal data for children under the age of 16. France has a law that requires social platforms to obtain parental consent for children under 15 to create accounts.
