Questions linger over which platforms to ban as Reddit and Kick included in eSafety list
TRANSCRIPT:
Eight major social media platforms will soon be subject to a strict under-16s social media ban in Australia.
From the December of 10th, users under the age of 16 will be barred from accessing Reddit, Kick, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, and X, platforms that Communications Minister Anika Wells says were identified after assessments by the eSafety Commissioner.
While critics argue the list is a drip-fed and late addition, Minister Wells says it's the Commissioner’s ongoing job to assess companies against legislative requirements.
"E safety platform assessments will be ongoing and respond to technological change, but we understand that families need certainty now and now regarding the major platform platforms, captured under the social media minimum age laws."
Reddit and live-streaming platform Kick are the two latest additions to the list of platforms.
eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, says it's the result of how the legislation distinguishes between online gaming and social messaging.
"The other key consideration for us is whether the platform meets the criteria of a class of services where there is an exception, such as for messaging, online gaming or educational content. A few important points I want to make about this list. Technology is fast changing and ever evolving, which means this will never be a static list."
Ms Grant has reiterated this distinction when asked why platforms like twitch or steam weren't included.
"We assessed steam and steam chat separately... We assessed steam as having four current purposes... They did fall more into the online gaming platform, and they fell within the class of service specifies in the rules as exempted because their primary purpose is enabling users to play online games with other users, even though there's still online social interaction as part of their features. So it's - Twitch is still being evaluated."
A disturbing global phenomenon where Australian girls are being targeted by sadistic men is happening on platforms like Roblox.
Ms Grant has been asked why Roblox wasn't therefore included in the legislation even if was technically a gaming platform.
Minister Wells and Ms Grant say that financial and sexual extortion are of a great concern to them, and in negotiations with Roblox they have ensured age assurance technologies will be implemented to stop adults from using the service.
The Commissioner says the government has put an extensive onus back on the platforms themselves to prevent circumvention.
"There are so many signals that they can and are picking up now device IDs. You know who their ISP account is, where they've downloaded with from which app store, and in most cases, you know, if you brought a phone to the United States and you download it from an app store, they will look at a six month period to see whether or not you're actually resident in Australia, we've had deep conversations with companies about this."
A disturbing global phenomenon where Australian girls are being targeted by sadistic men is happening on platforms like Roblox.
The E-safety commissioner Julie Inman Grant and Communications Minister Anika Wells and Ms Grant say that financial and sexual extortion are of a great concern to them.
They have confirmed they are currently in negotiotions with Roblox, and have ensured age assurance technologies will be implemented to stop adults from using the service.
The Commissioner says the government has put an extensive onus back on the platforms themselves to prevent circumvention.
"There are so many signals that they can and are picking up now device IDs. You know who their ISP account is, where they've downloaded with from which app store, and in most cases, you know, if you brought a phone to the United States and you download it from an app store, they will look at a six month period to see whether or not you're actually resident in Australia, we've had deep conversations with companies about this."
Opposition communications spokesperson Melissa Mcintosh says that there is nothing more important than protecting kids from the harms of social media.
She says as a mum, she's experienced it herself.
But she is concerned that the legislation won't be enforceable, and that biometric data could be compromised if the Digital ID system is used.
"I've become really concerned that this social media ban is going to work, and I've been expressing my concerns over weeks and weeks now.... Now, we don't know which age verification technology is going to be used, and so many Australians contact me, concerned about the potential use of digital identification."
