Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday criticized young people outing themselves on social media a day after the world’s first ban on under-16s came into effect, saying implementation will always be bumpy but will ultimately save lives.
A day after the law came into effect with bipartisan support from all major political parties and the backing of about three-quarters of Australian parents, the country’s social media was flooded with comments from people claiming to be under 16, including one on the prime minister’s TikTok account that said “I’m still here, wait until I can vote.”
Under the law, 10 of the largest platforms including TikTok, Instagram and YouTube must ban access to underage users or face a fine of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (33 million US dollars). The government has stated that it will take time for the platforms to implement the necessary processes.
“This is the law, this is not something that can be broken,” Albanese said on News Corp’s Sky News.
Some young people who have not yet been removed from social networks are posting ads boasting about it. That only reveals to the platforms who they are, and that’s why they will remove it.
Governments around the world have said they will monitor the Australian ban as they consider implementing something similar. US Republican Senator Josh Hawley backed the ban upon its entry into force, Nine newspapers reported, while France, Denmark, Malaysia and other countries have announced they plan to emulate the Australian model.
Australia’s internet regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, will ask all affected platforms to report the number of under-16 accounts in the days before and after the ban comes into force on Wednesday, Communications Minister Anika Wells said.
Albanese has presented the ban as an intervention to protect young people from the mental health risks associated with social media, including bullying, body image issues and addictive algorithms.
While some teenagers boasted about their ability to circumvent the ban, Australian content creators are reporting sharp drops in followers and views. The government claims that some 200,000 accounts have been disabled on TikTok alone since the ban went into effect.
Meta reiterated its opposition to the law, saying that some experts, advocates and parent groups were concerned that it was driving teenagers to less regulated parts of the Internet and that there was “little interest in enforcement.”
With information from Reuters.
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