Australia seeks global coalition to confront social media giants amid increased child harm: What we know | Today’s news

After banning children under 16 from having accounts on major social media platforms last December, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government is expanding its campaign against online abuse. Communications Minister Anika Wells is seeking to unite countries in a global coalition to pressure companies like Meta to make their platforms more secure, in a move that now potentially widens international efforts to tighten regulation of the tech industry.

Read also | Meta told to act on misleading content – What government advice says

Australia seeks global cooperation to tackle social media harm

In an interview with Bloomberg, Wells said such a coalition could adopt the template Canberra hopes to create to pressure the world’s biggest companies to protect children exposed to a wide range of online harm, from sex and violence to predators and deepfakes.

Wells added that she expects to use the proposed legislation to work with other countries on common online safety standards, especially for children. She went on to say that the plan has already been discussed with officials from several countries, including Malaysia, the Philippines, New Zealand, Canada, Sweden, the United Kingdom and others, with more meetings planned in the coming weeks.

Wells, 41, who has three young children, said: “They are the richest and most powerful companies in the world.” She added: “It will take a coalition of lawmakers working together around the world to take them on.”

Her remarks come a week after the Australian government proposed sweeping legislation requiring digital services, from social media platforms to artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, to build security features into their products from the start.

Read also | Australia decided to fight social media? The government is proposing a new law

Tech giants are facing increasing regulatory pressure

According to the report, if Australia’s latest proposal wins international support, social media platforms such as Facebook Meta, Instagram and ByteDance’s TikTok, along with parent Snapchat, could face more regulatory pressure over concerns about harming children. But the plan has already drawn criticism from President Donald Trump’s administration, which has warned that Australia’s tougher rules on US tech companies could spread to other countries.

The proposed legislation would add to already mounting problems for Mark Zuckerberg and his social media platforms, which have faced increased scrutiny and lawsuits over their addictive designs and potential harm to children. In August, the tech giant pledged to pay up to $18 billion to settle social media claims from 29 US states. In addition, part of the agreement also required the firm to place new handrails on its platforms, including restrictions on scrolling times for youth.

Read also | Meta’s $18 billion juvenile safety settlement has a catch: TikTok, YouTube must follow

Australia has already faced challenges getting tech giants to comply with its rules. In an interview, Wells said she expected legal action against Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Alphabet-owned YouTube over allegations they failed to comply with the social network’s ban on under-16s.

What is a Digital Duty of Care Account?

If passed, the bill, called the Digital Duty of Care, would also allow social media users to turn off algorithms that recommend content, undermining a key pillar of the platforms’ business model. The Digital Duty of Care legislation also mandates digital services such as online games and apps to protect under-18s from abuse, bullying and pornographic content, along with content that promotes eating disorders or is hostile to women. Service providers will also be required to conduct annual assessments to identify and reduce foreseeable risks to users.

Companies that breach the rules could face fines of up to A$109.2 million ($76.2 million) enforced by Australia’s online safety regulator, the eSafety Commissioner.

Read also | Meta agrees to report child sexual abuse and safety-related incidents to the Center

Wells, who wants the legislation to pass parliament by the end of the year, said: “We expect food manufacturers to test their food before they sell it to Australians,” adding: “We expect toy manufacturers to check choking hazards before they put their toys on the shelves.”

She continued: “The digital duty of care is based on the same principles.”