MELBOURNE, Australia — An advocate representing significant social media platforms expressed to an Australian Senate committee on Monday that legislation aimed at prohibiting children below the age of 16 from accessing these sites should not be rushed through Parliament this week but deferred until at least next year.
Sunita Bose, the managing director of Digital Industry Group Inc., an organization that supports the digital sector in Australia, which includes platforms like X, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, provided her insights during an urgent Senate committee hearing regarding a groundbreaking piece of legislation introduced last week.
Bose emphasized the importance of awaiting the completion of a government-commissioned assessment of age verification technologies, which is anticipated in June.
“Legislation is being pushed for passage this week without a clear understanding of its functionality,” Bose remarked.
This proposed legislation includes penalties reaching up to 50 million Australian dollars (approximately 33 million USD) for companies that fail systematically to prevent very young children from creating accounts.
The bill seems poised for approval by Parliament by Thursday due to backing from major political parties.
Should the bill be enacted, it will be implemented one year post-passage, thereby affording platforms the opportunity to develop technological solutions while also ensuring user privacy protections.
During the committee session, Bose faced intense questioning from multiple senators, with some disputing the validity of her responses.
Opposition Senator Ross Cadell posed a question regarding his 10-year-old stepson’s ability to maintain accounts on platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube since he was 8, despite an official age limit of 13 instituted by these platforms.
In response, Bose acknowledged that “this is an area where the industry needs to make improvements.”
Bose voiced that the proposed restriction could lead to the exclusion of some children and compel them to seek out “darker, less safe online environments” outside mainstream platforms.
Expressing concern regarding the proposed legislation, she stated that “this could endanger the safety of young individuals,” which elicited a sharp rebuke from opposition Senator Sarah Henderson.
“That’s a shocking claim. Your focus is on shielding large technology corporations,” Henderson retorted.
Senator Jacqui Lambie, who is not aligned with any party, questioned why platforms aren’t leveraging their algorithms to prevent exposure to harmful content directed at children. These algorithms have been criticized for keeping children excessively engaged with technology and inundating them with detrimental material linked to suicide and eating disorders.
“Your platforms are equipped to do this. The only barrier is their own willingness and profit motives,” Lambie asserted.
Bose asserted that protective algorithms already exist to help keep young users safe online, including mechanisms that filter out inappropriate content.
“We must continue investing in improving algorithms so they can better tackle harmful material,” she stated.
When questioned by opposition Senator Dave Sharma about the advertising revenue generated from Australian children’s usage, Bose admitted to not knowing the specific figures.
She also acknowledged her unfamiliarity with research from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, which indicated that platforms such as X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Snapchat accumulated $11 billion in advertising revenue from U.S. users under the age of 18 in 2022.
Sarah Vandenbroek, an official from the communications department, informed the committee that the forthcoming evaluation of age verification technologies would cover not just their precision but also their security and privacy considerations.
Deputy Secretary James Chisholm remarked that officials had conducted extensive consultations prior to suggesting the age restrictions.
“We believe this is a beneficial and feasible initiative,” Chisholm concluded to the committee.