‘Control’: Musk’s chilling warning to Aussies

Billionaire Elon Musk has taken to his own social media platform X to slam the Albanese government’s Bill to ban social media for kids under 16.

If passed, social media companies could be slapped with fines of up to $50m if they fail to do enough to verify a user’s age on their platforms.

Australia is getting ready to ban kids from social media. The Albanese government is looking to set a minimum age for platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. They haven't nailed down the exact age yet, but it’ll likely be somewhere between 14 and 16. If kids under that age manage to create accounts without their parents’ OK, these companies could be hit with million-dollar fines.

The world-first legislation, introduced into parliament on Thursday, would also create a legal definition of social media.

But Mr Musk, who has been named by President-elect Donald Trump to head a new department of government efficiency, has weighed in saying it “seems like a backdoor way to control access to the internet by all Australians”.

The Bill might not be popular with Mr Musk, but it will likely get a warm welcome in parliament.

There has been broad bipartisan support for restricting minors’ access to social media for some time, with states and territories mulling their own bans.

Though, the Bill is not without critics.

Independent MP Zoe Daniel warned on Thursday morning that it could unintentionally make platforms “less safe”.

“My biggest concern about it really is that it doesn’t substantively change what the platforms need to be doing on their platforms, and there may be an unintended consequence that the platforms actually become less safe,” she told the ABC.

“If you were to create a system where the platforms have to take responsibility, mitigate risk and be transparent about how they’re doing that and what tools they’re using, then that sort of provides, potentially, an environment where everyone can be in a safe space.

“What we’re doing is saying, ‘Well, we’re going to lock everyone under 16 out, and then everyone else can do whatever they want in there’.

“And also, we know that some people under 16 will get in. I don’t think that that’s really a good pathway to go down.”

Meanwhile, Snapchat is expected to be captured in the definition of social media under Australian law.

Snapchat lets users exchange photos, videos and messages rather than offering a posting board-type feature, such as Facebook, Instagram or X

There was some uncertainty around whether Snapchat could escape the proposed ban by arguing it was a messaging service and not a social media platform.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has likened the ban to age restrictions on alcohol, acknowledging people can get around it but arguing that it sets a standard.

The laws would come into force 12 months after passing.

The eSafety commissioner would be responsible for enforcing the legislation.