technology
Australian Prime Minister Condemns Senate Delay on Child Social Media Ban Changes
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese criticized senators for referring amendments to an eight-week inquiry. The changes would expand enforcement powers for the existing ban on accounts for children under 16.
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday condemned senators who blocked changes to a social media ban for children, saying tech platforms would use the delay to delete material that could serve as evidence. The government introduced amendments this week that would let the eSafety Commissioner demand documents from platforms about their compliance efforts.
The commissioner can currently request only information.
The conservative opposition and the Australian Greens party referred the draft legislation to an eight-week Senate inquiry on Thursday. The government does not hold a majority in the Senate. Albanese told Australian Broadcasting Corp that the delay would allow platforms to delete material before demands could be issued.
Greens Sen. David Shoebridge questioned the need to increase penalties that have never been issued. Opposition communications spokesperson Sen. Sarah Henderson said the amendments needed to be tougher. Parliament passed the original legislation in 2024.
The government initially reported more than 5 million accounts removed, but eSafety reported in March that seven in 10 children remained on restricted platforms.
