On November 28, 2024, Australia's Senate officially approved legislation that prohibits children under the age of 16 from creating accounts on major social media platforms. This move is part of the government's initiative to regulate online activity among younger users.
The law, supported by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labor government and the Liberal-National Opposition, is expected to take effect in about a year. It is considered one of the strictest regulations globally, banning minors from accessing popular sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. A recent YouGov survey indicated that 77% of Australians are in favor of the ban.
Despite public support, there are concerns about the practical implementation of the law, particularly regarding age verification. Compliance will be the responsibility of tech companies, which could face fines up to A$50 million (about $32.4 million) for failing to prevent underage users from accessing these platforms. Critics argue that the legislation lacks clear guidelines for how age verification should be carried out.
Tech industry representatives have criticized the new laws as rushed and impractical. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, pointed out that the ban does not consider the realities of age assurance technology. Elon Musk, owner of X (formerly Twitter), suggested that the legislation might serve as a means to control internet access for all Australians and hinted at potential legal challenges against the bill.
This legislation marks a significant step in Australia's efforts to ensure safer online environments for young users, though its implementation remains a topic of debate.
澳大利亞通過社交媒體禁令：16 歲以下兒童禁止使用
2024 年 11 月 28 日，澳大利亞參議院正式通過了一項法律，禁止 16 歲以下的兒童在主要社交媒體平台上註冊帳戶。此舉是政府為了規範年輕用戶的網上活動而採取的措施之一。
這項法律得到了總理安東尼·阿爾巴尼斯的工黨政府以及自由國民黨反對派的支持，預計將在約一年後生效。這被認為是全球最嚴格的規範之一，禁止未成年人訪問 Facebook、Instagram、Snapchat 和 TikTok 等流行網站。根據最近的 YouGov 調查，77% 的澳大利亞人支持這項禁令。
儘管公眾支持，但對於法律的實際執行仍存在疑慮，特別是在年齡驗證方面。合規的責任將由科技公司承擔，如果未能防止未成年用戶訪問這些平台，可能面臨高達 5000 萬澳元（約 3240 萬美元）的罰款。批評者指出，這項立法在年齡驗證的具體執行上缺乏明確指導。
科技業界的代表對這項新法律表示強烈反對，認為這是匆忙和不切實際的。Meta（Facebook 和 Instagram 的母公司）指出，這項禁令未考慮到年齡保證技術的現實。特斯拉的擁有者埃隆·馬斯克則表示，這項立法可能成為控制所有澳大利亞人網絡訪問的手段，並暗示可能會對該法案提出法律挑戰。
這項立法標誌著澳大利亞在確保年輕用戶安全的網上環境方面邁出了重要一步，儘管其實施仍然是爭論的焦點。
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