Big Tech says Australia "rushed" social media ban for youths under 16

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Big Tech corporations on Friday hit out at a landmark Australian law that bans youths under the age of 16 from accessing social media, saying the law was "rushed" through parliament.

Australia approved the social media ban for children late on Thursday. The law forces tech giants from Instagram and Facebook owner Meta to TikTok to stop minors logging in or face fines of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million).

TikTok, the hugely popular platform where teen users upload and share videos, said in a statement to Reuters on Friday that it was likely the ban could see young people pushed to darker corners of the internet.

"Moving forward, it's critical that the Australian government works closely with industry to fix issues created by this rushed process. We want to work together to keep teens safe and reduce the unintended consequences of this law for all Australians," it said.

The government had warned Big Tech of its plans for months, and first announced the ban after a parliamentary inquiry earlier this year that heard testimony from parents of children who had self-harmed due to cyber bullying.

Albanese's Labor party, which does not control the Senate, won crucial support from the opposition conservatives for the bill, allowing it to progress quickly.

The bill was introduced into parliament last Thursday and sent to a select committee on Friday where interested parties had 24 hours to make a submission. The legislation was passed on Thursday as part of 31 bills that were pushed through in a chaotic final day of parliament for the year.

Meta criticised the law saying it was a "predetermined process".

"Last week, the parliament’s own committee said the ‘causal link with social media appears unclear,’ with respect to the mental health of young Australians, whereas this week the rushed Senate Committee report pronounced that social media caused harm," it said in a statement in the early hours of Friday.

Snapchat parent Snap said it leaves many questions unanswered.

Australia has been at loggerheads with the mostly U.S.-domiciled tech giants for years. It was the first country to make social media platforms pay media outlets royalties for sharing their content and earlier this year said it plans to threaten them with fines for failing to stamp out scams.

Sunita Bose, managing director of Digital Industry Group, which has most social media companies as members, said no one can confidently explain how the law will work in practice.

"The community and platforms are in the dark about what exactly is required of them," she said.

A trial of methods to enforce it will start in January with the ban to take effect by Nov. 2025.

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