Tech giants today slammed a law passed in Australia banning under-16s from accessing social media, saying it would drive kids to dangerous, alternative platforms.

The bill, adopted yesterday, Thursday, by the Australian Parliament, provides that platforms such as X, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat they should take “reasonable steps” to prevent children and teenagers from opening an account.

In case of non-compliance the fines that will be imposed on them may arrive up to 50 million Australian dollars (€30.7 million).

Reactions from TikTok, META, Snap and Unicef

The TikToka popular platform used by teenagers to post and share videos, said in a statement to Reuters today that the ban is likely to push young people into dark corners of the internet.

“Going forward it is critical that the Australian Government works closely with the companies to correct issues arising from this rushed process. We want to work together to keep teenagers safe and limit the unintended consequences of this law for all Australians,” the company said.

OR Metaparent of Facebook and Instagram, criticized the Australian government for not taking into account what the tech giants are already doing “to ensure age-appropriate experiences”. He emphasized however that he will respect the law but asked that they be done consultations on how to apply of the law in order to reach “a technically feasible result, which will not burden parents and teenagers”.

OR SnapSnapchat’s parent company, said the bill leaves many questions unanswered. But a representative of the company assured that the platform will cooperate to “help adopt an approach that promotes both confidentiality and security and is workable.”

From the side of Unicef in Australia assessed that the bill was not a “magical solution” to the dangers of the internet and warned that may push children into “hidden and unsupervised” areas.

Katie Maskill, Unicef ​​Australia official, stressed that young people must be protected in the digital age, but in no way excluded from it.

“This ban risks preventing them from accessing parts of the online world vital to their well-being,” he noted.

Despite their reservations, the tech giants said they would cooperate with the Australian government to determine how to implement the bill, which is due to come into force in a year.

The bill does not provide any details on how the ban will be implemented, and some experts have expressed doubts about whether it is technically possible to implement it.

One of the key questions is the protection of privacy and for this reason amendments were made to the bill so that social media users do not need to show their ID to prove their age.

In which countries has a minimum age been imposed?

Several countries and regions have decided to impose a minimum age for access to social networking platforms.

In Florida of the US will enter into force in January a law that will prohibit minors under the age of 14 from opening an account.

OR Spain passed a law in June banning access to social media for minors under the age of 16. However, in both cases the practical details have not been determined.

At Francea law passed in 2023 that sets the age of “digital maturity” at 15, has not yet been implemented, pending an answer from the European Commission on whether it is in line with European law. French President Emmanuel Macron has even advocated banning mobile phones “before the age of 11”.

OR Chinawhich restricts access to minors from 2021, requires identification via ID. Minors under the age of 14 cannot use Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, for more than 40 minutes a day, while the time children and teenagers can spend playing online games is also limited.