As someone living in Australia this law is ridiculous and basically outlaws a chunk of my childhood where I used forums, irc, and blogs.<p>As a parent I do share concerns for short duration video content like Tiktok, Reels, and Youtube shorts etc, but I think any sensible regulation there would be better suited to everyone.<p>Age verification has such terrible consequences to anonymity that it shouldn't be an option. From the Explanatory Memorandum it looks like the current eSafety Commissioner was involved which unfortunately explains a lot.
The question to me is, not how will Aussie teens fare without social media, but rather will they fare better using social media through the inevitable workarounds compared to using the mainstream platforms that are now banned? Sometimes pushing networks underground results in greater danger and unintended consequences.<p>We banned drugs a hundred years ago but they're still universally available and have gotten stronger and cheaper. Plus, impure drugs and black market violence leads to scores of avoidable deaths. We waged war on file sharing but I can still download anything under the sun with ease. And the increasingly clever and hardened networks that enable that also enable the sharing of vile materials. And we know that trying to suppress sex not only fails but results in unintended pregnancies and the spread of disease.<p>It will be very interesting to see how young people adapt. But whatever the outcome, it's bound to involve fewer guardrails, less monitoring and less accountability than we see with the startups and megacorps that young people rely on today.
I oppose the bill on principle. That said, I can see some positive that can come of it (for Australians) which has nothing to do with safety. Still, I'm not convinced that Australian politicians are actually working for Australian interests there. Also the timing seems bad. They should have done it before Elon bought Twitter. Now it looks totalitarian. Could be one of those bills pushed by foreign entities... Could be pushed to tarnish Australia to reduce the current insane levels of inbound capital flight to Australia. Many people really want to see a housing price crash, for example. Also, we shouldn't discount the desire that foreign entities have in controlling global narratives to shape global economics.