MELBOURNE: Social media giants on Friday hit out at a landmark Australian law banning them from signing up under-16s, describing it as a rush job littered with"many unanswered questions".
The crackdown on sites like Facebook, Instagram and X, approved by parliament late Thursday, will lead to"better outcomes and less harm for young Australians", he told reporters. "It's entirely likely the ban could see young people pushed to darker corners of the internet where no community guidelines, safety tools, or protections exist," a TikTok spokesperson said.
Meta -- owner of Facebook and Instagram -- called for consultation on the rules to ensure a"technically feasible outcome that does not place an onerous burden on parents and teens". But the company said it would engage closely with government to develop an approach balancing"privacy, safety and practicality".Unicef Australia policy chief Katie Maskiell said young people need to be protected online but also need to be included in the digital world.
Social media companies remain adamant that age-verification should be the job of app stores, but the government believes tech platforms should be responsible.