Australia includes Reddit, Kick in teen social media ban
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Australia will become the first country to fine social media companies if they fail to take reasonable steps to block users aged under 16.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SYDNEY – Australia’s internet watchdog on Nov 5 widened its world-first teen social media ban to include Reddit and video live-streaming platform Kick, and said more sites could be added if their main role was to enable online social interaction.
Australia will become the first country to fine social media companies up to A$49.5 million (S$42 million) if they fail to take reasonable steps to block users aged under 16.
The law will become effective on Dec 10.
The eSafety Commissioner on Nov 5 urged tech companies to continually assess whether they meet the definition of an “age-restricted social media platform” when they introduce new features or their primary usage changes.
Discord, GitHub, Lego Play, Roblox, Steam and Steam Chat, Google Classroom, Messenger, Meta Platforms’ WhatsApp and YouTube Kids currently do not meet the criteria for an age-restricted social media platform, the regulator said.
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X and Alphabet-owned YouTube have already been included in the list.
There will not be a static list of companies that are age-restricted because of the fast-changing nature of technology, eSafety said.
When new tech platforms emerge or existing ones change their purposes, eSafety said it may reassess those services.
In a statement, eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant said: “We will continue to take a whole of ecosystem approach, but we want to reinforce that just because a service is excluded, it does not mean it is absolutely safe.” REUTERS
