Australia’s Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 has been formally introduced, to use age verification to prevent users under 16 from accessing social networks.
The draft immediately attracted criticism centering on the methods of establishing internet users’ age, rather than the stated purpose, namely – to keep children away from social sites for their own good.
These methods would involve either collection of biometric data, or users being forced to submit proof of government-issued ID. What this translates to has been summed up by X owner Elon Musk as “a backdoor” that will affect all Australians, in the way they access the internet.
This, like similar age verification proposals and already passed laws, relies on everyone having to prove they’re not a minor, rather than finding a way of identifying minors while avoiding unmasking every online user.
This could be because that way does not exist – and it also could be that various governments see absolutely nothing wrong with ending online anonymity, or using the cynical “think of the children” cliche to finally achieve that.
That’s not something leading digital and civil rights in general groups and advocates think should be allowed to happen. But, one might say – “the push is real.”
If and when this becomes law, parents in Australia won’t have the right to give consent for their under-16 children to use social media, while the onus, where it concerns fines, is on the companies behind these sites.
The proposal is for the fines to go up to the equivalent of $32 million when a platform is found as not complying with the rules, the center-left cabinet now hopes to impose.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese chose to speak about this massive controversy in the making as, “a landmark reform.”
“We know some kids will find workarounds, but we’re sending a message to social media companies to clean up their act,” he is quoted as saying.
This can be read as – “The kids aren’t really our first priority here. It’s to have more leverage over tech companies running social platforms, and, of course, ending online anonymity would be a bonus.”
Katie Maskiell of UNICEF Australia fears that this “solution” might actually end up driving children to “covert and unregulated online spaces.”
