Australian PM seeks big tech backing for internet safety, AI rules
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Australia in 2025 became the first country in the world to ban under-16s from using social media.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Australian PM Anthony Albanese seeks support from big tech for child online safety laws and AI regulation after meeting Apple’s Tim Cook.
- Australia plans to enforce a 2025 ban on under-16s using social media and draft laws imposing a "duty of care" on platforms like Facebook and TikTok.
- Albanese calls for stronger AI controls, warning of risks if humans lose control, with new AI standards expected by end of 2026.
AI generated
SYDNEY – Australian leader Anthony Albanese said on Sept 20 he was seeking big tech backing for his country’s child online safety laws and greater AI regulation, after meeting former Apple CEO Tim Cook in California.
Following the meeting with Cook at the tech giant’s headquarters on Sept 19, Albanese said Australia “can’t do it alone” when it came to protecting children from the dangers of the internet.
“We spoke about what we’re doing to protect children from online harm and the work ahead,” Albanese wrote on social media.
“We’re putting stronger rules in place to keep Australians safe online. And now, big tech companies like Apple are stepping up too.”
Cook said in a post on X that he shared with Albanese new “strong and intuitive controls to help keep kids safe online”.
Australia implemented legislation barring under-16s from social media platforms in 2025, part of a world-first crackdown designed to protect children from online bullying and “predatory algorithms”.
New draft laws unveiled in September would place a “duty of care” requirement on the firms behind popular platforms such as Facebook, TikTok and Instagram – as well as allow users to turn off their algorithms if they want to.
Data in August found that under-16s in Australia were increasing their use of social media apps such as Instagram and TikTok despite the ban.
The draft laws will be introduced to Parliament later in 2026 after consultation with social media companies, industry bodies and civil society groups.
Albanese – who is visiting the United States for the upcoming UN General Assembly – has also used his trip to call for greater regulation of AI, following dire safety warnings from industry leaders.
Australia will introduce new standards for AI by the end of 2026, he said.
“The risk is that AI develops in a way in which humans are no longer in control of what AI is producing,” he told national broadcaster ABC.
“How do we make sure that people are in control rather than the technology in control of us?” AFP