Elon Musk's X accused Australia of trying to give its internet regulator unfair information-gathering powers and undermining U.S. law with plans for tougher enforcement of a teen social media ban.
Australia’s world-first law barring social media accounts for users under 16 took effect last December, drawing criticism from social media companies, most of them based in the United States.
The dispute involving X, whose parent company is Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has added a geopolitical dimension to the debate.
X told an Australian Senate committee that the proposed changes did not give "due regard to procedural fairness, privacy, the broader impacts on online services, and Australia's digital economy."
In its submission published on Tuesday, the platform criticised plans to expand the eSafety Commissioner’s document discovery powers and double the maximum fine to A$99 million ($69 million).
A U.S. congressional committee has already asked Australia’s eSafety Commissioner to testify, accusing the regulator of threatening American free speech.
Musk previously called the Australian social media ban a "backdoor way to control access to the internet by all Australians" in a post on X.
Data published by eSafety and studies conducted since the ban came into force indicate that many Australian teenagers under 16 continue to have social media accounts.
The regulator said it is preparing potential enforcement action against five platforms but is being hindered by limited powers. It argued that its inability to compel documents from platforms and third-party age assurance providers creates significant barriers to investigations.
Industry group DIGI, which represents several platforms, said eSafety already had broad enforcement powers that had not been fully tested and called for greater clarity over document requests.
Google’s YouTube and TikTok said in separate submissions that there was no known foolproof method to identify and block underage users.
Australia’s parliament has not yet passed the bill expanding enforcement powers. The Senate committee is expected to deliver its findings on 25 August after holding hearings.
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Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 11 November. Today, we cover Russia-Ukraine peace talks, political tensions in Washington, strikes in Spain, ...
Delegations from Russia, Ukraine and the United States met in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday for their first formal talks in nine months. They did so with no agreement on what a ceasefire would be tied to or who gets to keep the land currently under Russian control.
At least 17 people have been reported killed in an explosion at a steel plant in western Türkiye, after a crane collapsed during maintenance work. The disaster has prompted a criminal investigation into what went wrong at the industrial facility.
Russia and Ukraine are set to return to Abu Dhabi on Tuesday for a fourth round of U.S.-brokered peace talks, with European participation, security guarantees and territorial disputes expected to shape the negotiations.
U.S. envoy Jared Kushner said Washington believes the Russian President is prepared to reach a peace agreement under the right conditions, as U.S., Russian and Ukrainian delegations began trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday 10 November.
Armenia could lose its voting rights within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) on 11 November after failing to pay membership fees for more than two years, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
The European Union (EU) has launched a new push to improve secure digital links between Europe and Central Asia, with the first High-Level Connectivity Platform Meeting on Digital in Chișinău, Moldova.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 11 November. Today, we cover Russia-Ukraine peace talks, political tensions in Washington, strikes in Spain, espionage allegations involving Nvidia's CEO, and climate negotiations at COP31 in Türkiye.
Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives have blocked an effort to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over his handling of military operations, including the ongoing war with Iran, delaying a potential confrontation until Democrats take control of Congress in January.
Iran has rejected France's accusations that it carried out cyberattacks against supermarket refrigeration systems, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accusing Paris of blaming Tehran for its own domestic failures.
A city bus crashed into 32 vehicles during morning rush hour in Seongnam, South Korea, on Wednesday, injuring 57 people, including nine seriously, according to the National Fire Agency and Yonhap news agency.
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