Australia adds Reddit, Kick to social media ban for children under 16

According to the nation’s online safety commissioner, Reddit and Kick will be among the new social media platforms that Australia’s online safety laws for children under the age of 16 will prohibit.

Communications Minister Anika Wells announced on Wednesday that the social media ban would go into effect on December 10 and that access to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, and YouTube would also be restricted.

“Online platforms use technology to target children with chilling control,” the statement read. We just want them to keep kids safe online using the same technology, according to Wells.

Wells told reporters in Canberra that we met with several social media platforms over the past month to make sure that no excuse exists for failing to implement this law.

She said, “We want parents to have peace of mind and children to have a childhood.”

Since Australia passed its landmark online safety legislation in November of last year, social media platforms have had a year to prepare for the ban.

Initial discussions focused primarily on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X, and Instagram, but Wells said the list could change as it was later expanded.

While more than 140 academics from Australia and abroad wrote to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last year to object to the age-limit ban as a “blunt” instrument, Canberra’s decision is being closely watched by nations concerned about the negative effects of online platforms on kids.

Without the powerful, unseen forces of harmful and deceptive design features like opaque algorithms and endless scroll, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said, “Delaying children’s access to social media accounts gives them valuable time to learn and grow.”

According to Inman Grant, she will collaborate with academics to assess the effects of the ban, including whether children are physically active or sleepier because of the social media restrictions.

Inman Grant said, “We’ll also look for unintended consequences, and we’ll be gathering evidence” to help others take lessons from Australia’s ban.

Because users cannot be “compelled” to submit government IDs for an age check, according to a government fact sheet, critics have questioned how the restrictions will be enforced.

According to the commissioner, platforms are reportedly being discussed in order to adhere to the new regulations, and breaking them could result in civil penalties of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (US $32.1 million).

TikTok conducted an investigation into youth suicide.

French authorities announced they had opened an investigation into the social media platform TikTok and the dangers of its algorithms causing young people to commit suicide as soon as they learned that Australia would add more names to the list of prohibited platforms.

A parliamentary committee’s request to launch a criminal investigation into TikTok’s possible responsibility for endangering the lives of its young users was answered, according to Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau.

Beccuau claimed that a committee report had noted “insufficient moderation of TikTok, its ease of access by minors, and its sophisticated algorithm, which could lead to suicide by quickly enticing them to a loop of dedicated content.”

A comment request was not immediately responded to by TikTok.

The Paris police cybercrime unit will investigate the crime of providing a platform for “propaganda in favor of products, objects, or methods recommended as means of suicide,” which is punishable by three years in prison.

The unit will also examine the criminal offense of facilitating “illegal transactions by an organized gang,” which is punishable by a 10-year prison sentence and a $1. 2 million fine.

With more than 1.5 billion users worldwide, China-based ByteDance has recently received criticism from governments in Europe and the US.

Content that encourages suicide, self-harm, or unhealthy body image as well as its potential use for foreign political interference have been issues raised over the platform.

Source: Aljazeera