Elon Musk blasts Australia’s planned ban on children’s social media By Reuters
SYDNEY (Reuters) – American billionaire Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, has criticized a proposed Australian law to ban social networking sites for children under 16 and fine social media companies up to A$49.5 million ($32 million) in violation of the law. .
Australia’s left-wing government on Thursday introduced the bill to parliament. It plans to trial an age verification system to enforce social media age limits, one of the strictest controls imposed by any country to date.
“It seems like a backdoor way to control internet access for all Australians,” said Musk, who considers himself a champion of freedom of speech, in response to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s X on Thursday about the bill.
Several countries have vowed to reduce children’s use of social media by law, but Australia’s policy could be one of the strictest with no exemptions for parental consent and existing accounts.
France last year proposed banning social media for under-15s but allowing parental consent, while the US has for decades required tech companies to seek parental consent to access data on children under 13.
Musk has clashed with Australia’s Labor-centric government over social media policies and called them “fascists” for their lying law.
In April, X went to court in Australia to challenge the internet regulator’s takedown order over the Sydney bishop stabbing, prompting Albanese to call Musk an “arrogant billionaire”.
($1 = 1.5359 Australian dollars)
