Australia Passes House Of Representatives Bill To Ban Youth Under 16 On Social Media

Australia's House of Representatives has passed a bill to ban teenagers under the age of 16 from using social media.

According to AP and Reuters, the Australian House of Representatives on the 26th local time supported a bill that would require platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram to be fined up to 50 million Australian dollars and about 46.2 billion won in our money if they fail to prevent minors from holding accounts.The bill

passed through the House of Representatives with 102 votes in favor and 13 against and was handed over to the Senate.

On the same day, an Australian Senate committee also supported the bill, which would ban teenagers under the age of 16 from using social media.

The Senate, however, says social media platforms should not be forced to submit personal data to users, such as passports and other digital identification cards, to prove their age.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's center-left Labor government plans to pass the bill by the end of the parliamentary session on the 28th, with the support of the opposition Liberal Party.

If the bill passes the Senate this week, social media platforms will have to work out ways to implement the age limit for a year before the punishment takes effect.

The bill was proposed on the 21st, and the submission of opinions on it closed on the 22nd, and a short hearing was held on the 25th.

The Senate Environment and Communications Legislative Committee pointed out in a report released on the same day that social media platforms should "present alternative methods for age verification as a reasonable measure considering age verification pilot projects."

The Communications Minister must submit to Parliament a report on the progress of the age-checking pilot project by September 30 next year.