Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Monday that social media companies will be required to delete personal data used for age verification as part of a groundbreaking ban on under-16s using social media platforms.
The government plans to trial an age-verification system, potentially using biometrics or government ID, to enforce the age restriction. These measures are among the strictest worldwide, with platforms like Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and Snapchat affected.
Read more: Australia Plans to Prohibit Social Media Access for Under-16
Albanese emphasized strong privacy protections, including a requirement for platforms to destroy the data once age verification is completed. Critics, including Elon Musk, have argued the law could be a backdoor attempt to control internet access in Australia.
The legislation, which sets the highest age limit globally, has no exceptions for parental consent or pre-existing accounts, and platforms could face fines of up to $32 million for non-compliance. The government aims to pass the bill by the end of the parliamentary year, fast-tracking it through both houses of parliament.
