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Today the Government has introduced world-leading legislation to enforce a minimum age of 16 years for social media.

The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 will deliver greater protections for young Australians during critical stages of their development.

It will require social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent under 16s from having accounts.

The law places the onus on social media platforms – not parents or young people – to take reasonable steps to ensure these protections are in place.

The Bill and the associated rules will ensure young Australians have continued access to messaging and online gaming, as well as access to services which are health and education related, like Headspace, Kids Helpline, and Google Classroom, and YouTube. 

The Government will introduce stronger penalties for online safety breaches, which will see digital platforms face fines of up to $49.5 million for systemic breaches.

The Bill creates a new definition of ‘age-restricted social media platforms. This will include Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, and X, amongst others.

It will contain robust privacy provisions, including requiring platforms to ringfence and destroy any information collected to safeguard the personal information of all Australians.

The law is designed to be responsive to changes in technology and services.

The Bill has been designed following extensive feedback from young Australians, parents, experts, industry, community organisations and state and territory governments.

It builds on broader efforts by the Australian Government to hold platforms accountable for ensuring the safety of their users.

Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese:

“We know social media is doing social harm

“We want Australian children to have a childhood, and we want parents to know the Government is in their corner

“This is a landmark reform. We know some kids will find workarounds, but we’re sending a message to social media companies to clean up their act.”

Minister for Communications, Michelle Rowland:

“The Albanese Government is continuing to act on its commitment to keep children safe online

“This legislation will go a long way to providing that support and creating a new normal in the community around what age is okay to use social media

“Platforms have a responsibility to provide safe products and look after the mental health of young Australians

“We need to create a strong incentive for compliance and increasing the maximum penalties for online safety breaches to up to $49.5 million brings our penalty framework into line with other laws. 

“Keeping children safe – wherever they are – is a collective responsibility, and the Albanese Government is stepping up to play our role

“I want to thank our state and territory colleagues and everyone who has made a contribution to bring this important Bill to life.”

Senator Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens and spokesperson for Higher Education, has responded to the defeat of the Labor government’s disastrous bill to cap international students.

Senator Faruqi: 

“This is a win for the tertiary sector. This is a win for staff in the tertiary sector. This is a win for international students who have been unfairly scapegoated and targeted by the Labor government.

“Labor’s reckless and chaotic international student caps are finally dead in the water as they should be. This was the very definition of how not to make policy.”

“From day one, we have been vocal in our opposition to these student caps which was just dog whistling that shamefully scapegoated international students for the housing crisis they did not cause.

“Literally everyone except Labor was opposed to international student caps because they would decimate the sector, harm international students and our reputation and result in massive job and economic losses.

“This was always a migration bill disguised as education policy in Labor’s bid to win a race to the bottom with the Coalition on migration. 

“We pushed back hard, and now with the Coalition opposing it as well, this flawed policy will hopefully never see the light of day.

“I hope Labor has learnt their lesson. They must go back to the drawing board and come back with a plan that fully funds universities for research, learning and teaching, to tackle insecure work and casualisation, wipe student debt and make Uni and TAFE free.”

Today, Members of the Australian Greens team signed onto the Open letter from Parliamentarians in Australia, Canada and New Zealand on recognition of the State of Palestine dated October 23, 2024

The state of Israel continues to deny the right of self-determination to Palestinians and continues to dispossess them of their land. We aim to rectify this injustice in ways that will allow both Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace, security and equality, exercising self-determination as described by the United Nations Charter

In signing this letter we wish to make clear our continued commitment to the Australian Greens’ resolution Justice and Human Rights in Palestine and Israel which can be found here

A blunt age ban for social media is not the solution for tackling the toxic tech platforms, according to final report recommendations from the Joint Select Committee into Social Media and Australian Society tabled in Parliament today.

In additional comments, the Greens have called for tech giants to be prohibited from targeting, harvesting and selling the data of children as well as a Digital Services Tax to make the tech giants pay their fair share.

Deputy Chair of the JSC Senator Sarah Hanson-Young is Greens Communications Spokesperson, Senator for South Australia:

“For too long social media giants have made their billionaire owners rich, while failing to show any concern for the welfare and safety of the public. It’s time this changed, it’s time for social media to be socially responsible and properly regulated.

“The evidence is in and it’s clear that banning young people from YouTube is not the solution. You don’t make platforms safer by just locking young people out. This report is a call to action for our Parliament to stop the toxic tech giants damaging our democracy and targeting our kids.

“As parents, we are rightly worried about the safety of our kids which is why the Greens have called for the tech giants to be prohibited from collecting, selling and exploiting young people’s data and privacy to make massive profits. Labor and Liberal should back this call. 

“This report recommends what the Greens and experts have been calling for: EU-style guardrails and systemic measures to reduce the damage being done by poisonous algorithms that fuel division, damage democracy and target our kids with extreme content.

“We need to make these platforms safer for everyone by tackling the insidious business model that fuels division and harm.

“Whether you’re a 14-year-old or a 64-year-old – these companies have a responsibility to provide a safe product to the community and that’s why a Digital Duty of Care is welcome and overdue.

“Users also need more choice: people should have the ability to turn down and opt out of unwanted content and extreme algorithms.

“The tech giants are making massive profits from the data of everyday Australians. We need to get on with an Australian version of a tech tax, or a Digital Services Tax, to ensure these corporations pay their fair share back to the communities they profit off. These are already in place in countries like France and Canada and we can do it here. 

“Revenue could be invested in a range of public interest services including public interest journalism, mental health, and increased education around digital literacy.

“We also need the immediate release of the full Online Safety Act review.”

Greens additional comments, recommendations:

​​Recommendation 1​ 

1.12 Immediate release of the Online Safety Act review. 

​​Recommendation 2​ 

1.13 Prohibit platforms from harvesting and exploiting the data of minors and protect young people from targeted, unsolicited advertisements and algorithms as a matter of priority, with a view for this to apply to all users in the long-term to protect all Australians’ safety and privacy.  

​​Recommendation 3​ 

1.14 Invest in education for young people and their families to help develop digital literacy and online safety skills, and equip them with the tools and resources they need for positive and responsible online use. 

​​Recommendation 4​ 

1.15 Consider implementing a digital services tax to ensure global giants pay their fair share back to the communities they profit off, similar to those implemented in countries like France and Canada. 

The Australian Greens are deeply concerned about Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace and are joining with the international community in calling for his immediate release.  

Dr Al-Singace has been arbitrarily detained by the Kingdom of Bahrain since 2011. He was sentenced to life in prison for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. 

Human Rights Watch has reported that Dr Al-Singace has been conducting a liquids-only hunger strike for over 3 years. He is protesting the confiscation of his work and the insufficient medical care he is receiving in prison. 

Adequate healthcare while detained is a requirement under international law, but it has been reported that medical care given to Dr Al-Singace has been lacking in many areas including failure to fill his prescriptions on time, and failure to provide him with disability support such as crutches and physiotherapy. 

In addition, Dr Al-Singace has been held for over 3 years in a state of isolation likely amounting to solitary confinement, according to a group of UN experts. During this time, he has been unable to go outside or see the sunshine. 

The Australian Greens are joining with Amnesty International to call for the Kingdom of Bahrain to immediately and unconditionally release Dr Al-Singace. Additionally, we are calling on authorities to ensure he receives the medical care he is entitled to under international law. 

Furthermore, The Australian Greens are calling on the Australian Government to acknowledge the human rights abuses that have occurred and consider placing targeted sanctions on the individuals and entities who are responsible for his arbitrary detention and insufficient care.

The Greens will always work to call out human rights abuses and cases of arbitrary detention wherever they occur.

The Greens will oppose Labor’s Scams Prevention Framework Bill in the House of Representatives because it fails to adequately support people who have been scammed and hold corporations accountable.

“Labor has delivered for big banking corporations by making sure this Bill is more about protecting profit than helping people who have been scammed,” Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“This whole Bill is a scam because it claims to support people who have been scammed but is designed to make it almost impossible for them to get compensation.”

“Labor’s Bill leaves Australians who have been scammed to fight a complicated, lengthy battle against big banks, telcos, and social media giants to get their money back.”

“This legislation creates a David and Goliath scenario where scam victims face a convoluted and lengthy process, likely taking years, to seek redress.”

The Greens said the bill should include a presumptive reimbursement model, similar to the successful UK scheme, which ensures scam victims are reimbursed quickly. Under this model, banks would refund victims promptly and recover costs from other companies involved, such as telcos and social media platforms.

“The Greens will continue fighting for stronger protections, quicker reimbursements for scam victims, and incentives for businesses to prevent scams in the first place.”

“We will also push for the Bill to be referred to inquiry so we can hear from stakeholders and the community.”

“The big banks made almost $32 billion in profit last year, yet Labor has designed a bill to protect their bottom lines instead of protecting Australians.

“As is often the case, Labor is more interested in appeasing its corporate donors than protecting customers and helping scam victims.”

The Australian Government is gravely concerned by the sentence handed down in Hong Kong for Australian citizen Mr Gordon Ng and other members of the NSL47.

This is a deeply difficult time for Mr Ng, his family and supporters. Our thoughts are with them following the sentencing.

The Australian Government has advocated at senior levels in support of Mr Ng’s best interests and welfare and has sought consular access to Mr Ng. We will continue to do so.

Mr Ng and others in the NSL47 were arrested in January 2021 for organising and participating in an election primary. Mr Ng was convicted under the National Security Law on 30 May 2024.

Australia has expressed our strong objections to the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities on the continuing broad application of national security legislation, including in application to Australian citizens.

We call for China to cease suppression of freedoms of expression, assembly, media and civil society, consistent with the Human Rights Committee and Special Procedure recommendations, including the repeal of the National Security Law in Hong Kong.