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Just weeks from now, Australia will become the first country to ban children under 16 from having social media accounts. But questions still remain about the law's implementation a year after it was first introduced. Kristina Kukolja reports.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: For the good of Kirsty. For the good of Lucy and Anya.
KRISTINA KUKOLJA, BYLINE: An official campaign video reassures parents and children of what's to come...
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: For the good of their well-being. From December 10, people under the age of 16 will no longer have access to social media accounts.
KUKOLJA: ...Under a world-first law that the Australian government says should protect children from online harm. This week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed concerns that neither social media platforms nor the country's online safety regulator are ready.
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PRIME MINISTER ANTHONY ALBANESE: We don't argue that these laws will be perfect in their implementation. We do argue very strongly, though, that this is the government of Australia setting down what we expect to happen, including reminding social media companies that they have a social responsibility.
KUKOLJA: Facebook, YouTube and TikTok are among nine platforms required to take, quote, "reasonable steps" to prevent children from opening accounts or cancel those that exist. Otherwise, they risk fines worth tens of millions of dollars. The government hasn't mandated how exactly the company should do this, just repeatedly insisting they were given 12 months to prepare. But the government has still not confirmed the final list of affected platforms and has faced criticism for exempting gaming sites like Roblox, even though experts warn they, too, can expose children to harmful interactions. ESafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant says platforms will be regulated if their main purpose is social interaction, and some online games could still be added.
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JULIE INMAN GRANT: If they start rolling out features that look more like they're becoming a social media company than an online gaming company, then we will seek to capture them.
KUKOLJA: Major platforms have not yet explained how they plan to detect underage accounts. Some have said the ban will be technologically difficult to enforce. Some are not yet willing to talk about their measures. John Pane from the digital rights group Electronic Frontiers Australia says the companies have a range of government-endorsed options. They can estimate someone's age based on online activity or even request a user's personal documents.
JOHN PANE: Problematically, most platforms won't do this themselves. They'll use a third-party vendor or platform to do these activities for them. And this, therefore, with their data collection, significantly increases the cyber risk.
KUKOLJA: Pane argues that instead of this ban, the government could protect children online by better regulating social media sites.
PANE: Break the business model of Big Tech by introducing a digital duty of care by prohibiting the use of algorithmic behavioral manipulation and to prohibit the use of the dopamine drip cycle to keep kids engaged.
KUKOLJA: The eSafety commissioner's office says it will work with academics to evaluate the impacts of the ban.
For NPR News, I'm Kristina Kukolja in Melbourne. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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