Australia's Senate passed legislation banning children under the age of 16 from using social media, marking the country as the nation with the world's strictest rules on the matter.
The bill was approved by the Senate in a 34 to 19 vote. It had already been approved by the House of Representatives with an overwhelming 102 votes to 13 dissenters.
Essentially, anyone under the age of 16 will be blocked from sites such as TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook. A specific list of sites that are to become inaccessible to minors is yet to be determined, and each platform will have a year to implement methods to enforce the ban before they are prosecuted, reported news.com.au.
Furthermore, tech companies must find methods to prevent children from accessing their sites or risk being fined up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million).
The Senate has been criticized for rushing the passing of legislation after the late vote occurred on the final sitting day of the year, in which the legislature attempted to rush through most laws.
"The social media ban legislation has been released and passed within a week and, as a result, no one can confidently explain how it will work in practice – the community and platforms are in the dark about what exactly is required of them," said Sunita Bose, managing director for Digital Industry Group Inc., a company that advocates for social media platforms in Australia.
Other lawmakers also expressed concerns regarding the legislation.
"This policy will hurt vulnerable young people the most, especially in regional communities and especially the LGBTQI community, by cutting them off," said Sen. David Shoebridge, from the minority Greens party, addressing the upper house of Australia's legislature.
However, many individuals spoke up in support of the bill, citing prior instances of harm or violence that it would protect children from going forward.
"It's too late for my daughter, Carly, and the many other children who have suffered terribly and those who have lost their lives in Australia, but let us stand together on their behalf and embrace this together," said campaigner Sonya Ryan, whose 15-year-old daughter Carly was murdered by a man posing as a teenager online, to AP News via email.
"I have always been a proud Australian, but for me subsequent to today's Senate decision, I am bursting with pride," Wayne Holdsworth, whose teenage son committed suicide after being sextorted online, told AP News in an email.
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