History has been made as anyone in Australia under the age of 16 is barred from entering the social media websites they have accessing from the age of 3 and have become part of their information sharing and gathering ever since.
The only time a person under 16s can access a social media site, legally that is, to develop digital information will be when they go on a holiday outside of Australia.
For anyone planning to circumvent the ban, from today, eSafety will begin monitoring and enforcing compliance with the Australian Government’s social media minimum age legislation.
According to eSafety that will involve supporting parents trying to explain why their children have been banned, providing a crucial buffer for under 16s developing digital literacy and resilience.
And eSafety relays it will not hesitate to take enforcement action where it identifies systemic breaches of the law by social media platforms, including seeking penalties of up to $49.5 million
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the world-leading initiative was an important addition to Australia’s online safety framework.
“Enforcing a minimum account age of 16 will create normative change and give young people a reprieve from powerful and persuasive design features built to keep them hooked, often enabling harmful content and conduct online.
“We recognise no single safety measure is a silver bullet but restricting social media accounts for under 16s is part of a holistic approach that includes eSafety’s education and outreach; our complaint schemes; our role ensuring industry transparency and compliance with unlawful and age-restricted material codes and standards; and our work promoting Safety by Design.
“On this historic day, I urge all Australians to visit eSafety.gov.au to access our comprehensive online safety resources, including our social media minimum age information hub for educators, parents and young people themselves,” Julie Inman Grant concluded.
eSafety will continue engaging with industry and educating the public, however, from today its focus will shift from preparing for the social media minimum age to enforcing it.
Age assurance can involve a range of steps for both new and current users, including reviews and appeals processes.
These processes may take several days or even weeks to complete fairly and accurately and may include applying multiple age assurance measures to accounts over time. However, eSafety will not hesitate to take enforcement action where it identifies systemic breaches of the law, including seeking penalties of up to $49.5 million.
As previously indicated, eSafety will be monitoring platforms’ compliance through a variety of channels, including information gathering notices.
eSafety will provide transparency about enforcement outcomes; however, it must protect the integrity of any investigations it undertakes and therefore will not be commenting on individual investigations.
