Musk’s X Criticises Australia’s Social Media Law
Synopsis
The platform said Canberra's proposed regulatory powers over the under-16 social media ban overreach and conflict with international law.
Elon Musk's Twitter, also called X, has disagreed with Australia's plans to extend enforcement powers to its under-16 social media legislation arguing it goes against international law and cross-border legal processes afforded to U.S. Laws.
The company has complained about the proposal to a Senate Committee that is conducting a review of amendments to the Online Safety Act 2021 which give more power to the eSafety Commissioner.
Under the law the regulator also obtains powers to require production of documents during investigations and maximum civil penalty imposed upon systemic failure to comply is also bumped from A$49.5 million to A$99 million.
Enforcement Proposal Faces Industry Pushback
In its submission, X said that the proposed framework has potential to force businesses to provide information covered by foreign law and thus extend the jurisdiction of the regulator into information to which the regulator does not have local control.
The platform says that the platform actions risk vitiating the existing procedures and processes under the international law.
The proposed changes came after regulator complaints from Australia authorities that several platforms have not been compliant to the law requiring no under-16 social media access.
The eSafety commissioner initiated investigations into social media platforms' compliance to the law to restrict children aged under-16 from having social media accounts. Currently Meta is investigated alongside a number of others, including Snap and Google, for their compliance to the under-16s social media bill.
The bill was passed by the Australian government in November 2024 and it is the first national bill passed with a ban on providing the service to children under 16. The legislation entered into effect in 2025, setting a requirement on platforms to use reasonable efforts to prevent under-16 from being an able user.
The platform has managed to delete over 4.7million accounts, referred to as being under 16, since enforcement measures were implemented. Another study conducted by the British Medical Journal (BMJ) shows that 85% of the 12-15 year old Australians interviewed were still accessing social media which points to ongoing compliance challenges.
Australia's Approach Draws Global Attention
The framework is Australia's most stringent national age restrictions ever. Nations across the world implement similar age-verification and child online protection legislations such as France, Norway, Denmark, Spain, Ireland and the United Kingdom, but all lack Australia's ban on online platforms for children.
During the Senate inquiry, DIGI (Digital Industry Group Inc), also an industry association member companies of which are Australian-based technology giant corporations, expressed concern over the absence of certainty for the legislation, as a number of proposed enforcement measures were untested.
X's submission is part of a debate of ensuring the balance between children's online safety and protection, fair processes and international legal obligations. The Senate Committee will likely publish a report on the bill's passage before the 25th of August at which point the Parliament will proceed with or reject the proposed amendment to the bill.
Source: Reuters
Pooja Malik is a business journalist with over six years of experience covering startups, entrepreneurship, and emerging trends. She has previously worked with leading media platforms such as YourStory Media and BW BusinessWorld, where she reported on business, policy, and market developments. Currently, she serves as Editor at The Inspirepreneur Magazine, where she writes and edits stories across business, lifestyle, and travel, with a focus on clarity, accuracy, and reader relevance.
