SOCIAL MEDIA – AUSTRALIA – REGULATION

Strategic error in age-limit plan for social media

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 11-Sep-24

The federal government has yet to specify an age limit for restricting teenagers’ access to social media. In constrast, the Coalition has committed to introducing an age limit of 16 if it wins the upcoming election; it plans to do so within 100 days of taking office. Meanwhile, technology investor Daniel Petrie contends that rather than spending $6.5m on a trial of age verification technology, the government should be putting the onus for restricting teenagers’ access to social media on the companies that own these platforms. He contends that social media companies would quickly find ways to block access to their platforms if the penalties for failing to do so were severe enough.

CORPORATES

PM in push for ban on social media for teens

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Phillip Coorey, Gus McCubbing
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 10-Sep-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has committed to introducing legislation that would impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media and to do so prior to the next election. In announcing the proposed ban, Albanese has taken his inspiration from South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, who is seen as the driving force behind the idea. The proposed nationwide ban will draw on the work done for SA by former High Court judge and the legislative structure already developed by South Australia, while Snapchat would be the app most impacted by the proposed ban.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Labor vows to force banks to compensate Australians tricked out of money by scammers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Karen Middleton
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 31-Jul-24

The federal government intends to pursue further reforms aimed at protecting consumers from scams. Assistant treasurer Stephen Jones will note in a National Press Club on Wednesday that the government’s crackdown helped to reduce losses from scams to $2.74bn in 2023, compared with $3bn in 2022. Jones will add that losses due to social media-based scams rose by 17 per cent in 2023, and he will argue that the ‘social licence’ of digital platforms requires them to do more to protect their users from fraudsters. Jones will also flag reforms that will require banks to compensate customers for losses incurred due to scams.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NATIONAL PRESS CLUB (AUSTRALIA)

‘Wilful blindness’: Big fines for tech giants that ignore abuse material

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angus Thompson
The Age – Page: Online : 24-Jul-24

Technology companies are currently required to report to the federal government on steps they are taking to minimise harmful content on their platforms. However, eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant says her office will further crack down on companies such as Google and Meta to ensure compliance. Amongst other things, they will be required to report their progress on combating child exploitation and sex abuse material on their platforms, with such reports to be submitted every six months for the next two years. The first reports must be submitted by 15 February, and they can incur a fine of up to $782,500 for each day they fail to comply.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE ESAFETY COMMISSIONER, META PLATFORMS INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

‘We’ll lift social media access age in first 100 days’: Dutton

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Sarah Ison
The Australian – Page: 4 : 13-Jun-24

Opposition leader Peter Dutton says legislation to ban children under the age of 16 from accessing social media would be a top priority for a Coalition government. Dutton says the Coalition will introduce such legislation within its first 100 days in office if it wins the next federal election. Communications Minister Michelle Rowland contends that many social media platforms already have age limits, but they are often not enforced and can be easily bypassed. She notes that the federal government is investing $6.5m in a trial of age assurance technology.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE, TRANSPORT, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS

Social media limits backed

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Isabella Pesch
The Australian – Page: 3 : 20-May-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has expressed support for imposing age limits on children’s use of social media. Albanese says that many parents are "worried sick" that their children have access to inappropriate material online, while they are also concerned about the mental health effects of social media. He adds that News Corp’s campaign for children under the age of 16 to be restricted from having social media accounts is a "really positive response" to the issue.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Social media limits backed

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Isabella Pesch
The Australian – Page: 3 : 20-May-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has expressed support for imposing age limits on children’s use of social media. Albanese says that many parents are "worried sick" that their children have access to inappropriate material online, while they are also concerned about the mental health effects of social media. He adds that News Corp’s campaign for children under the age of 16 to be restricted from having social media accounts is a "really positive response" to the issue.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

Musk’s lawyers to fight orders on two fronts

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Bonyhady, Tess Bennett, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 24-Apr-24

Social media giant X could incur a fine of up to $782,500 for each day it does not comply with a directive to remove video footage of the Sydney church stabbing from its platform. However, X owner Elon Musk contends that the ‘take-down’ order goes too far, given that it applies globally. The US billionaire has expressed concern about one country being allowed to censor content for all countries. Musk’s lawyers have indicated that they could challenge the take-down order in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described Musk as an egotist and accused him of being "out of touch with common decency". Meanwhile, the Coalition has proposed barring young children from using social media to protect them from harmful content.

CORPORATES
X CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Security chiefs to target tech giants

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Geoff Chambers
The Australian – Page: 1 & 7 : 24-Apr-24

The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation’s director-general Mike Burgess and Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw will jointly address the National Press Club on Wednesday. They will urge technology companies to work with law enforcement and intelligence agenies to combat the use of their platforms by criminals and extremists. They are particularly concerned about the use of end-to-end encryption services such as Facebook Messenger and Telegram to disseminate racist and other harmful information and ideologies. Burgess has also warned that artificial intelligence technology will facilitate national security threats such as espionage, foreign interference and radicalisation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE

‘Stop trusting Facebook’, whistleblower Frances Haugen tells Australian MPs

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lisa Visentin
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 22-Oct-21

Federal Liberal-National MP Julian Simmonds says regulatory intervention is needed to ensure that Facebook is more transparent about how it operates. His comments follow an online briefing to federal MPs by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who said they should not trust the social media company’s promises that it is trying to make its platform safer. Simmonds co-ordinated the briefing with digital advocacy group Reset Australia. Haugen attracted much attention when she recently appeared before a US congressional hearing.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED