U.S. billionaire Elon Musk, proprietor of social media platform X, has criticised Australia’s proposed regulation to ban social media for youngsters below 16 and superb social media platforms of as much as A$49.5 million ($32 million) for corporations for systemic breaches.
Australia’s centre-left authorities on Thursday launched the invoice in parliament. It plans to attempt an age-verification system to implement a social media age cut-off, among the hardest controls imposed by any nation to this point.
“Looks like a backdoor solution to management entry to the Web by all Australians,” Musk, who views himself as a champion of free speech, mentioned in a reply late on Thursday to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s put up on X in regards to the invoice.
A number of international locations have already vowed to curb social media use by kids by means of laws, however Australia’s coverage may develop into one of the crucial stringent with no exemption for parental consent and pre-existing accounts.
France final 12 months proposed a ban on social media for these below 15 however allowed parental consent, whereas the U.S. has for many years required know-how corporations to hunt parental consent to entry the information of youngsters below 13.
Musk has beforehand clashed with Australia’s centre-left Labor authorities over its social media insurance policies and had known as it “fascists” over its misinformation regulation.
In April, X went to an Australian court docket to problem a cyber regulator’s order for the elimination of some posts in regards to the stabbing of a bishop in Sydney, prompting Albanese to name Musk an “boastful billionaire”.
This text was produced by Reuters information company. It has not been edited by International South World.
