Social media ban under 16 in Australia

[chuft]

Fairy-Possum if you look at the text of the compiled Online Safety Act 2021,

https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2021A00076/latest/text

you will see at the top it says

Online Safety Act 2021

No. 76, 2021

Compilation No. 2

Compilation date: 14 October 2024

Includes amendments: Act No. 39, 2024

So it looks like the original Act has been amended and recompiled to show the latest language twice. The last amendment was from Act 39, 2024, which is

https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2024A00039/asmade/text

This Act amends a lot of other Acts. This type of law tends to be known as a technical corrections law, it does not make a lot of new policy, it just cleans up/renames small things in other Acts.

It is an "amending Act" rather than an "in force Act". If you search it for "Online Safety" you will find the amendments it makes to the Online Safety Act:

Online Safety Act 2021

59 Section 220 (heading)

Omit “Administrative Appeals Tribunal”, substitute “Administrative Review Tribunal”.

60 Section 220

Omit “Administrative Appeals Tribunal” (wherever occurring), substitute “Administrative Review Tribunal”.

These are quite technical corrections/changes. Nothing exciting there.



The bill I linked

https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo...lication%2Fpdf

whose info is here

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary...sult?bId=r7284


was passed by both Houses on Nov 29. So obviously that was after the Oct 14 date on which the previous version of the Online Safety Act was compiled. That tells you the version linked at the top of this post can't possibly contain the latest Act amending it.


Notice this bill says "No. , 2024". There is a space where the Act number should be. That's because it's not yet an Act.

This latest bill does not yet have an Act number so you will find no such Act if you searched for it, just the bill. It has not been assented to by the Crown (some weird Commonwealth/Australian language, in reality the Governor-General does the assenting). Technically it is not a law yet. In theory the Governor-General could refuse to sign it, in practice, that never happens. The Crown is a figurehead nowadays and has no real power over Parliament.

https://peo.gov.au/understand-our-pa...use-to-sign-it


Once it is signed by the Governor-General, it will become an Act, with Act number, and it will modify the 2021 Act, and be law. At some point that site I linked will do another compilation of the Online Safety Act 2021 and this time it will say it is the third compilation and includes this latest bill (though at that point it will have matured into an Act, and maybe put on some weight).


Just a little legal research lesson.

[chuft]

I'm hoping the law is similar to one you linked. I could live as long as I am allowed to own a channel

I would not get your hopes up. Section 63D of the Bill says

63D Civil penalty for failing to take reasonable steps to prevent
age-restricted users having accounts

A provider of an age-restricted social media platform must take
reasonable steps to prevent age-restricted users having accounts
with the age-restricted social media platform.

and

63E Delayed effect of requirement to take reasonable steps to
prevent age-restricted users having accounts

(1) Section 63D takes effect on a day specified in an instrument under
subsection (2) of this section.

(2) The Minister may, by notifiable instrument, specify a day for the
purposes of subsection (1).

(3) The specified day must not be later than 12 months after the day
this section commences.

(4) To avoid doubt, the obligation in section 63D applies in relation to
accounts with an age-restricted social media platform if the
accounts exist on or after the day section 63D takes effect
(including accounts that began to exist before that day, and
accounts that began to exist before the day this section
commences).

Note 63E, subsection 4. There is no exclusion for pre-existing accounts.

[possessor]

I hate the law.

[Play_z]

Here’s YouTube’s statement about the ban

[possessor]

Here’s YouTube’s statement about the ban

OH MY GOD WHY IS THIS MY LIFE


YouTube, please get off your butts and stick to your word for the first time in your life