ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
In Australia, children will be banned from using some of the world's biggest social media sites under strict new laws passed by the country's Parliament. But as Kristina Kukolja reports, questions remain about how the ban will be implemented.
KRISTINA KUKOLJA, BYLINE: Close to midnight on the last day of the parliamentary sitting year, the Australian Senate passed legislation to ban children under the age of 16 from using social media.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Honorable senators, there being 34 ayes and 19 noes, it is passed in the - resolved in the affirmative.
KUKOLJA: The government's bill passed both houses of Parliament. But during the Senate debate, National Party Senator Matt Canavan was among those voicing doubt.
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MATT CANAVAN: We are not sure yet whether this hasty, blunt attempt will do anything to reduce the social harms to children of social media.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Hear, hear.
CANAVAN: But what we do know for sure is that we have successfully disillusioned a whole generation of Australians with Australian politics.
KUKOLJA: Other senators said parliament wasn't given enough time to scrutinize the bill. But from late 2025, social media companies will have to show they're taking reasonable steps to verify the age of their users and prevent children from having accounts. If they breach the law, they could face millions of dollars in fines. The government says it's worried about the effect of excessive social media use on the physical and mental health of children. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the ban will protect children's safety online.
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PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE: And this one's for the mums and dads. Social media is doing harm to our kids, and I'm calling time on it.
KUKOLJA: Reactions to the ban have been mixed, but critics - among them technology experts and human rights advocates - question how it can be enforced and what impact it will have. The government's testing of age verification technology has also raised concern about the use of biometric data. It's named X, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat as affected by the ban. But Susan McLean, a cybersecurity consultant, says it's not clear how widely restrictions will apply.
SUSAN MCLEAN: What about pornography platforms? What about the AI chatbots, which are diabolically bad for young people? What about chatting games? Then there's talk about exemptions. Will exemptions become loopholes?
KUKOLJA: McLean says the government should have taken a different approach by addressing the spread of harmful content online.
MCLEAN: And you do this by managing algorithms, by making sure certain content is not available. It's doable by the platforms. It's enforceable because it's pretty easy to work out if the content is inappropriate, and then you could fine them then.
KUKOLJA: Some of the big technology platforms have called for the ban to be delayed, but say they'll comply with the new law.
For NPR News, Kristina Kukolja in Melbourne, Australia. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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