Australians will not be compelled to hand over personal identification to big tech companies as part of the Government’s world-first under-16s social media ban, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has pledged. Source: The Guardian.
Several Coalition members have raised alarm about the privacy implications of the bill, with concerns over whether platforms such as Facebook or TikTok would require personal documents to verify a user’s age.
The Guardian reports some Labor MPs had also internally raised concerns about privacy and identification issues in the bill, which the Government has resolved to ram through Parliament by tomorrow after less than a week of a hasty Senate inquiry.
In a bid to quell concern from both sides of the aisle, Ms Rowland told Labor’s party room meeting on Tuesday that a regulated entity – a list of designated platforms to include Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit and X – would not be able to compel people to hand over their ID to maintain access to their profile.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton gave a similar update to the Coalition party room.
An Opposition spokesperson said Mr Dutton had told his MPs that the Coalition had negotiated “concessions” on the reform, including an amendment to the legislation that would ensure no compulsion for people to hand over any form of government ID to social media platforms to verify their age.
That’s understood to include driver licences and passports.
However, even with the change, some Coalition members may vote against the bill when it is voted on in Parliament. Twenty Opposition members debated the legislation in a marathon party room meeting yesterday, with at least one pledging to oppose it, and two others saying they may also do so. Mr Dutton spoke strongly for the bill in the meeting.
Nationals Senator Matt Canavan yesterday called the rushed Senate inquiry “unprecedented” and “just not acceptable to the public”.
A report from the Senate inquiry, published late Tuesday, recommended the legislation be passed. But the recommendations also called for the Government to “meaningfully engage” young people in implementing the laws.
Senator Canavan and the Greens provided dissenting reports to the majority recommendations.
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Australians won’t have to hand over ID when using social media, communications minister vows (By Josh Butler, The Guardian)
