According to Australian media reports, Reddit is already preparing to challenge the ban in court. The social media platform had previously stated that it would comply with the requirements, even though the terms of the law were unacceptable.
Exempt from the ban are messaging and email services, voice and video calls, online games and educational offerings. Popular gaming platforms such as Roblox and apps such as WhatsApp or Messenger are also not subject to the new regulation – at least so far.
It was only at the end of November that the organization Digital Freedom Project filed a lawsuit in the High Court in Canberra. The group argues the ban is excessive and a “direct attack on young people’s right to free political communication.” Two 15-year-olds appear as plaintiffs. One of them, a girl named Macy, feels that the law reminds her of George Orwell’s novel “1984,” which describes a totalitarian surveillance society.
But not only young people, experts and critics are also skeptical. Many say teenagers are simply switching to other services, such as gaming or messaging platforms, where risk and control are even more difficult. Others say the government should not have invested in a ban, but rather in programs to help children stay safe on social media.
The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is also convinced that a blanket ban is not the right answer: “There are less restrictive alternatives that could achieve the goal of protecting children and young people from dangers online without so severely restricting other human rights.”
An alternative would therefore be to impose a legal duty of care on tech companies. “This would require them to take appropriate measures to make their products safe for children and young people,” said the AHRC. However, experience also shows that a lot is done in the profitable industry to circumvent such restrictions.
Shortly before their launch, online services such as Snapchat asked hundreds of thousands of users to prove their age. The notices were sent to accounts that Snapchat believes are likely to be used by children and young people under the age of 16. The platform used “behavior-based signals” from activities as well as self-reported age data.
However, affected users were given the opportunity to download their own data such as chats, reminders and videos in advance. As of now, the accounts are blocked – and will remain so until the users are 16 years old.
Prime Minister Albanese recently admitted in an interview with the broadcaster 7News that the law was not perfect, but would certainly find imitators: “We are the world leader here, but the world will follow Australia.”
