Australian PM Rejects Privacy Concerns As Social Media Giants Seek More Time Till Ban

Australia is all set to pass a bill in Parliament this week that aims to ban social media for children under 16 and proposed fines of up to $32 million for social media platforms for systemic breaches. For this, the country’s government plans to trial an age-verification system that may include biometrics or government identification to enforce a social media age cut-off, some of the toughest controls imposed by any country to date. The verification system has given rise to privacy fears which the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said are unfounded. The law allows children access to messaging, online gaming, health and education related services, and Google Classroom and YouTube. Social media platforms have slammed the move and asked for more time in its implementation.