Tech giants Meta and TikTok announced on Tuesday that they will comply with Australia’s upcoming ban on social media use for under-16s — though both companies cautioned that the new law could be difficult to enforce.
Starting December 10, social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok will be required to remove users under the age of 16, under what is being described as one of the world’s toughest age-based online restrictions.
The move has drawn global attention as regulators in other countries grapple with how to shield minors from the risks of social media.
While pledging to follow the law, both firms stressed the challenges of implementation. “Put simply, TikTok will comply with the law and meet our legislative obligations,” said Ella Woods-Joyce, the company’s Australia policy lead, during a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
However, she warned that the “blunt” age ban might backfire. “Experts believe such a ban could drive young users into darker corners of the internet where safeguards don’t exist,” Woods-Joyce added.
With just over a month to go before the policy takes effect, Australian authorities are still working out the details of enforcement and clarifying the obligations of tech companies.
‘Vague’ and ‘rushed
Meta policy director Mia Garlick said the firm was still solving “numerous challenges”.
It would work to remove hundreds of thousands of users under 16 by the December 10 deadline, she told the hearing.
But identifying and removing those accounts still posed “significant new engineering and age assurance challenges”, she said.
“The goal from our perspective, being compliance with the law, would be to remove those under 16.”
Officials have previously said social media companies will not be required to verify the ages of all users but must take “reasonable steps” to detect and deactivate underage ones.
Companies found to be flouting the laws face fines of up to Aus$49.5 million (US$32 million).
Tech companies have been united in their criticisms of Australia’s ban, which has been described as “vague”, “problematic”, and “rushed”.
Video streaming site YouTube – which falls under the ban — said this month that Australia’s efforts were well intentioned but poorly thought through.
“The legislation will not only be extremely difficult to enforce, it also does not fulfil its promise of making kids safer online,” local spokeswoman Rachel Lord said.
Australia’s online watchdog recently suggested that messaging service WhatsApp, streaming platform Twitch and gaming site Roblox could also be covered by the ban.
