Regulations will be established by the Commission, detailing how this legislation should be implemented.
In Australia, a significant shift is underway in the regulation of social media platforms. The main legal framework addressing these issues is the Online Safety Act 2021, with an upcoming amendment, the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, set to take effect from December 2025.
These new laws aim to protect minors under 16 years old by requiring popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, YouTube, and others to prevent users under this age from creating or maintaining accounts. The platforms must take "reasonable steps" to verify ages, but they cannot require government-issued ID as the sole proof of age.
The law exempts online gaming and pure messaging apps that lack social media interaction features from these measures. Failure to comply with these obligations may result in hefty fines, up to AUD 49.5 million. This places liability on platforms to enforce these age restrictions and content controls, indirectly addressing harmful interaction like trolling.
While there is no explicit new legislation solely focused on social media platform liability for trolling content, the existing framework under the Online Safety Act handles harmful content regulation. The eSafety Commissioner is empowered to regulate harmful online content, requiring platforms to enforce removal of illegal or harmful content, which implicitly covers trolling and abuse cases.
Meanwhile, in other news, Shell is planning a seismic study in South African waters to search for oil and gas. Despite concerns from environmental and human rights organizations, so far, these efforts have not been halted.
In international politics, Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, left Russia for the second time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, meeting with Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister, on December 6. The details of the extended military agreement between Russia and India were not provided, but it has been confirmed that the agreement has been extended to 2031. The first part of a $5.5 billion contract for a Russian military air defense system is set to be delivered to India soon, and India will produce 600,000 AK-203 assault rifles.
In the Netherlands, 66% of human trafficking victims are women, and 75% of reported human trafficking cases involve sexual exploitation. In Australia, there is a growing push for courts to be able to obtain the identity of users who post defamatory content.
Lastly, in the political sphere, Marine Le Pen, the far-right candidate for the Polish presidential election, has stated that she would pay the fine imposed on Poland by the European Union if elected.
[1] Online Safety Act 2021 [2] Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 [3] eSafety Commissioner [4] Australian Communications and Media Authority [5] Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
Social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, YouTube, and others, will be required to take reasonable steps to verify the ages of users under 16 years old, as mandated by the Online Safety Act 2021 and soon, the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, to prevent minors from creating or maintaining accounts. Meanwhile, in politics, the eSafety Commissioner, an entity established under the Online Safety Act 2021, is responsible for regulating harmful online content, including addressing trolling and abuse cases indirectly.
