Australia Leads Global Push for New Online-Safety Laws

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to introduce legislation that would extend Australia’s ban on children under 16 from creating social-media accounts and give users over 16 the ability to opt out of algorithm-driven feeds. The draft also adds protections for children under 18 against pornography, eating-disorder content, misogyny, crime-related posts and “nudify” apps that generate fake naked images. Regulators say abuse of such apps has risen more than five-fold since 2019. Fines for breaches could exceed A$100 million per platform. The government aims to have the bill before Christmas and will discuss it during Albanese’s upcoming trips to the United States, Commonwealth, ASEAN, APEC and G20 meetings.

The Guardian

Australia’s 2025 ban on under-16 accounts led to the closure of as many as 5 million accounts, according to reporting. A DemosAU poll later that year showed 66 % of voters supported mandatory algorithm opt-out tools, with only 13 % opposed. Internationally, the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen praised Australia’s approach, and the EU is considering a “Kids Act” modeled on it. The Netherlands recently forced Meta to add an easy-to-use algorithm-blocking option under the EU Digital Services Act, and Meta settled U.S. state claims for US$18 billion, agreeing to child-safety measures such as daily time limits.

The Guardian

Researchers such as Dr Rob Nicholls of the University of Sydney suggest the measures may become more effective as the current cohort of 13- to 15-year-olds ages out of the ban.

The Guardian

The Greens, whose support Labor needs to pass the bill, argue the opt-out model is insufficient and call for a proactive opt-in system for algorithms. Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has signaled it may raise trade concerns over targeting U.S.-owned tech firms.

The Guardian

• “We must move the burden of reporting online harm from the shoulders of victims and stop that harm at the source,” — Anika Wells

The Guardian

• “When seatbelts were introduced in the late 1970s, some adults didn’t wear them, because it creased their shirt as they threw their cigarette out the window whilst balancing their can of beer on their lap.” — Jason Trethowan, chief executive of the youth mental health organisation Headspace

The Guardian