Australian Politics Forum - Social media restrictions

tallowood Gold Member Online Australian Politics Posts: 6183	Social media restrictions Dec 3^rd, 2025 at 10:50am Social media age restrictions start 10 December. How will it work? Will adults have to prove their age by giving more information about themselves on line? Is IngSoc or rather AuSoc is here already?
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Captain Nemo Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 13556 Melbourne Gender:	Re: Social media restrictions Reply #1 - Dec 4^th, 2025 at 9:54am I wonder how many under 16 teens will hold a grudge against a government that took away their social media?
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greggerypeccary

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Re: Social media restrictions
Reply #2 - Dec 4^th, 2025 at 10:02am

tallowood wrote on Dec 3^rd, 2025 at 10:50am:

Social media age restrictions start 10 December.

How will it work?
Will adults have to prove their age by giving more information about themselves on line?

That's what I'm wondering.

I have a YouTube account - will I have to prove my age?

I don't think so.

Apparently they look at the sorts of videos you watch, and how old the account is, to determine if you're an adult or not.

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freediver

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Re: Social media restrictions
Reply #3 - Dec 4^th, 2025 at 10:04am

I just got an email response from the Labor MP I wrote to about this. It only took 6 weeks.

Apparently websites are allowed to 'infer' your age if you are obviously over 18. The example he gave is:

Quote:

If you are someone who uses Facebook and you've had a Facebook account since 2015 and you pretty much just use it for Marketplace these days to look for caravans, Facebook knows that you are over 16 and you shouldn't be required to do anything to demonstrate your identity because Facebook has enough data about you from what you've given Facebook yourself to know your age. So that's called inference based on the information that you're giving them.

He failed to address any of the concerns I raised.

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People who can't distinguish between etymology and entomology bug me in ways I cannot put into words.

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greggerypeccary Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 147885 Gender:	Re: Social media restrictions Reply #4 - Dec 4^th, 2025 at 10:04am Captain Nemo wrote on Dec 4^th, 2025 at 9:54am: I wonder how many under 16 teens will hold a grudge against a government that took away their social media? Nah. By the time they're able to vote they would have moved on to new platforms and forgotten all about it. Two years to a 16-year-old is an eternity.
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greggerypeccary

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Re: Social media restrictions
Reply #5 - Dec 4^th, 2025 at 10:08am

freediver wrote on Dec 4^th, 2025 at 10:04am:

I just got an email response from the Labor MP I wrote to about this. It only took 6 weeks.

Apparently websites are allowed to 'infer' your age if you are obviously over 18. The example he gave is:

Quote:

If you are someone who uses Facebook and you've had a Facebook account since 2015 and you pretty much just use it for Marketplace these days to look for caravans, Facebook knows that you are over 16 and you shouldn't be required to do anything to demonstrate your identity because Facebook has enough data about you from what you've given Facebook yourself to know your age. So that's called inference based on the information that you're giving them.

He failed to address most of the concerns I raised.

Yep, that's my understanding.

When YouTube looks at my viewing history they'll see lots of dad rock videos and news reports - obviously over 16.

If it was full of Taylor Swift music videos, toy unboxing and cartoons they might start asking for ID.

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freediver

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Re: Social media restrictions
Reply #6 - Dec 4^th, 2025 at 10:13am

This actually raises more concerns for me. Allowing websites to infer your age will actually give an unfair advantage to the big data-greedy tech companies like facebook, google etc. You might be able to continue using them seemlessly, but any competitor that starts up will have to ask you for ID.

He reassured me that it is not a data-grab by the government. But I did not even mention that in my email. I did raise several legitimate concerns that he completely ignored. As far as I am concerned, facebook and google are more powerful than the Australian government, and more of a threat. If they decided to, the could easily influence the outcome of future elections, which is probably why it came about that these laws ended up working in their favour.

He also offered me a 1300 page report on how easy it will be to implement.

Bunch of clowns.

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People who can't distinguish between etymology and entomology bug me in ways I cannot put into words.

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tallowood

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Re: Social media restrictions
Reply #7 - Dec 4^th, 2025 at 10:15am

How Australia's world-leading social media ban will be enforced according to 9news.

Quote:

Responsibility for enforcing the ban, which comes into effect on December 10, has been placed on social media companies.
If children aged under 16 do find their way onto one of the banned sites, they and their parents won't face any penalties.
Instead, the federal government's eSafety agency can take action against tech companies that aren't taking "reasonable steps" to keep underage users off their platforms.

eSafety hasn't specified exactly what social media companies need to do to avoid falling foul of the new laws.

Quote:

from December 10, providers need to deactivate or remove the accounts of users aged under 16, and stop those children from being able to immediately create new profiles to get around the ban.
This includes using geolocation data to check whether a user is an Australian resident, and verify that account holders are 16 or older.
While social media platforms can confirm ages by checking someone's government-issued ID, they're required to offer at least one alternative so users aren't forced to hand over their driver's licence or passport.

Companies have already begun rolling out age assurance technology, which can estimate and infer someone's age.
The exact methods vary, but range from getting users to take a video selfie to analysing account behaviour and other metadata.

Quote:

There's also a range of requirements for companies around the data they collect, making sure they don't discriminate against diverse groups, and that users have an avenue to appeal decisions made against them.

Quote:

If a social media company breaks the age restriction laws, including by failing to take reasonable steps to keep underage children off its platforms, it will face a fine of up to $49.5 million.
eSafety can also take the offending company to court to seek injunctions or undertakings from it in response to any breach.

What if SMC in question is overseas?

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brain damaged poofs can not spell words Russia and Russians

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freediver Gold Member Offline www.ozpolitic.com Posts: 51796 At my desk.	Re: Social media restrictions Reply #8 - Dec 4^th, 2025 at 12:50pm And why is it taking 6 weeks to get a cookie-cutter response on their biggest, most controversial policy, and less than a week before it comes into effect? Are they asleep at the wheel?
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Bobby.

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Re: Social media restrictions
Reply #9 - Dec 4^th, 2025 at 1:06pm

tallowood wrote on Dec 3^rd, 2025 at 10:50am:

Social media age restrictions start 10 December.

How will it work?
Will adults have to prove their age by giving more information about themselves on line?

Is IngSoc or rather AuSoc is here already?

They might.

Look deeper -
that info will either be sold to the highest bidder
or it will be stolen by hackers so they can steal money from people's bank accounts.

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Sir Eoin O Fada

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Re: Social media restrictions
Reply #10 - Dec 4^th, 2025 at 1:39pm

tallowood wrote on Dec 4^th, 2025 at 10:15am:

How Australia's world-leading social media ban will be enforced according to 9news.

Quote:

Responsibility for enforcing the ban, which comes into effect on December 10, has been placed on social media companies.
If children aged under 16 do find their way onto one of the banned sites, they and their parents won't face any penalties.
Instead, the federal government's eSafety agency can take action against tech companies that aren't taking "reasonable steps" to keep underage users off their platforms.

eSafety hasn't specified exactly what social media companies need to do to avoid falling foul of the new laws.

Quote:

from December 10, providers need to deactivate or remove the accounts of users aged under 16, and stop those children from being able to immediately create new profiles to get around the ban.
This includes using geolocation data to check whether a user is an Australian resident, and verify that account holders are 16 or older.
While social media platforms can confirm ages by checking someone's government-issued ID, they're required to offer at least one alternative so users aren't forced to hand over their driver's licence or passport.

Companies have already begun rolling out age assurance technology, which can estimate and infer someone's age.
The exact methods vary, but range from getting users to take a video selfie to analysing account behaviour and other metadata.

Quote:

There's also a range of requirements for companies around the data they collect, making sure they don't discriminate against diverse groups, and that users have an avenue to appeal decisions made against them.

Quote:

If a social media company breaks the age restriction laws, including by failing to take reasonable steps to keep underage children off its platforms, it will face a fine of up to $49.5 million.
eSafety can also take the offending company to court to seek injunctions or undertakings from it in response to any breach.

What if SMC in question is overseas?

If it is overseas then appropriate people will travel abroad at the taxpayer’s expense to talk to them.
Achieve nothing, return, then plan the next trip.

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Self defence is a right.

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John Smith Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 78253 Gender:	Re: Social media restrictions Reply #11 - Dec 4^th, 2025 at 1:55pm Quote: Social media restrictions As a father of a 16yr old and a 13 yr old, good on em.
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Daves2017

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Re: Social media restrictions
Reply #12 - Dec 4^th, 2025 at 2:28pm

freediver wrote on Dec 4^th, 2025 at 12:50pm:

And why is it taking 6 weeks to get a cookie-cutter response on their biggest, most controversial policy, and less than a week before it comes into effect? Are they asleep at the wheel?

It’s just another Aniko Wello game.

With the third world standard of our telecommunications systems ( it’s hardly a shock that SEQ has just suffered a major triple o outage and network failure, again, Optus)

So I suggest if Anika Wello can’t manage to provide lifesaving basic services such as triple 0 what hope is there for this new policy?

If you do need ambulance services or fire and rescue or police the American 999 service is reliable you just need to put the USA call code in front of it before you ring and they will then be able to get in touch with Australian emergency services and direct them to you.

Australia and our new third world living standards.

But we continue to pay first world prices?

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I don’t care about Australians who are living in poverty or their businesses have gone bankrupt or those working hard and still struggling to survive.

BAN THE BURKA!

That’s fair more important!

Ffs

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Baronvonrort Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 20002 Gender:	Re: Social media restrictions Reply #13 - Dec 4^th, 2025 at 10:45pm Chris Bowen left X after getting constantly fact checked and moved to BlueSky The leftist cesspit full of pedos BlueSky isn't restricted by the Esafety Karens new rules. Why is the leftist BlueSky exempt?
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Baronvonrort Gold Member Offline Australian Politics Posts: 20002 Gender:	Re: Social media restrictions Reply #14 - Dec 4^th, 2025 at 10:46pm John Smith wrote on Dec 4^th, 2025 at 1:55pm: Quote: Social media restrictions As a father of a 16yr old and a 13 yr old, good on em. Only a slack father would outsource parenting responsibility to the Government.
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