Social media companies that fail to keep children under 16 off their platforms could be fined up to $50 million under proposed Labor laws, despite potential carve-outs for major messaging apps.
Labor will introduce its social media age-limit legislation to parliament on Thursday, which is likely to be passed into law before the end of the year with Coalition backing.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the reforms are "about protecting young people and letting parents know we've got their backs".
"The legislation places the onus on social media platforms, not parents or children, to ensure protections are in place," she said.
The world-first laws would require platforms to "take reasonable steps" to prevent people under the age of 16 from creating accounts and will seek to impose $50 million fines on companies that systematically breach regulations.
Opposition communications spokesperson David Coleman told Sky News on Wednesday that the Coalition would "work very constructively with the government", adding that he wants "to see this bill passed before parliament rises for the end of the year".
But the Coalition has also previously warned it will not support legislation that contains "loopholes".
Potential exemptions for Snapchat 'ridiculous'
Labor has repeatedly named platforms like TikTok, X, Instagram and Facebook as the target of these laws, but questions remain about the fate of platforms like Snapchat, Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger.
The government has confirmed its proposed legislation will allow the communications minister to make exemptions for some messaging services, online games and educational platforms.
While Coleman has previously labelled the potential exemption of Snapchat as "ridiculous", Rowland appeared to rule out that possibility.
"[Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok] are in a range which is called age-restricted services, as defined under the legislation. Just as alcohol is an age-restricted product, these are age-restricted services," Rowland said.
She has confirmed YouTube Kids will be exempt, urging social media companies to consider age-appropriate channels for young people.
'Ban a blunt instrument'
Media law expert Faith Gordon is among 120 academics who wrote to the prime minister outlining their concerns with the proposed ban.
She pointed out the legislation is being put before parliament before the conclusion of the government's own trial of age-verification technologies.
"So, many might describe that as a knee-jerk policy decision. We haven't had any updates from the government on that trial," she said.
"This ban really is a blunt instrument, and we're not hearing from diverse perspectives on how this will operate in reality."
Gordon raised the potential for youth to bypass the laws using virtual private network (VPN) connections while also pointing to the potential benefits of social media.
"Research has shown LGBTQI+ young people use online spaces to interact with other young people, to connect and educate themselves, and they have really been missing from the discussions," Gordon said.
"There are other young people who live in rural and regional areas, who find these online spaces give them a sense of connection and belonging."
Social media giant Meta has separately raised concerns that an app-by-app approach could lead to large-scale data breaches, pushing for a "one-stop" age verification model via the app store.
To that end, the government has confirmed its legislation will require platforms to destroy any information they collect as part of the age-verification process.
