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By Alyse Messmer
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The Australian government released a draft law on Monday that calls for social media platforms to require parental consent for users under 16 to join, along with other online privacy and safety regulations.
The new law seeks to protect Australians online and enforce privacy laws, according to a government statement. Social media platforms would now be required to take all reasonable steps to verify a user's age, as well as give primary consideration to the best interests of young users when handling their personal information submitted to the network.
The new legislation comes in hopes of helping with the mental health issues of young people in the country and protecting children from social media companies.
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"In Australia, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a consistent increase in signs of distress and mental ill-health among young people. While the reasons for this are varied and complex, we know that social media is part of the problem," Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention David Coleman said.
The Australian Government's newest online legislation does not come as a surprise, as Australia has repeatedly called for international regulation of the internet and social media companies. This year, Australia passed a law that could imprison social media executives if platforms stream violent images. Another law passed this year requires Google and Facebook to pay for journalism to be on the networks.
The proposed legislation stated that companies that do not comply with the new safety and security guidelines could face fines of 10 million Australian dollars, comparable to $7.5 million.
For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below:
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The proposed legal changes come after former Facebook product manager Frances Haugen this month asserted that whenever there was a conflict between the public good and what benefited the company, the social media giant would choose its own interests.
Facebook regional director of public policy Mia Garlick said her platform had been calling for Australia's privacy laws to evolve with new technology.
"We have supported the development of international codes around young people's data, like the U.K. Age Appropriate Design Code," Garlick said in a statement, referring to British legislation introduced this year that requires platforms to verify users' ages if content risks the moral, physical or mental well-being of children.
"We're reviewing the draft bill and discussion paper released today, and look forward to working with the Australian government on this further," she added.
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