SYDNEY (Reuters) – U.S. billionaire Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, has criticized Australia’s proposed law banning social media for children under 16 and fines companies A$49.50 for systemic violations. million ($32 million) fined. .
Australia’s centre-left government tabled the bill in parliament on Thursday. It plans to test an age verification system to enforce social media age cutoffs, some of the strictest controls imposed by any country to date.
“It appears to be a backdoor way of controlling internet access for all Australians,” Musk, who sees himself as a champion of free speech, said in a response to Prime Minister Anthony late Thursday. Albanese said in response to X’s post about the bill.
Many countries have already legislated to restrict children’s use of social media, but Australia’s policy may be the strictest with no exceptions for parental consent and pre-existing accounts.
France last year proposed banning social media for children under 15 but allows parental consent, while the United States has for decades allowed technology companies to restrict access to children under 13. Parental consent is required to access data.
Musk has previously clashed with Australia’s centre-left Labor government over its social media policies, calling it “fascist” over the disinformation law.
In April, X went to Australian court to challenge a cyber regulator’s order to remove some posts about the stabbing of a bishop in Sydney, prompting Albany to call Musk an “arrogant billionaire”.
($1 = 1.5359 Australian dollars)
