'Delay': eSafety boss cools expectations over looming ban
Australia's eSafety Commissioner has called to rebrand a social media ban for under-16s as a "social media delay" after conceding that new laws won't entirely prevent underage access to TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
Six months until laws restricting Australians under the age of 16 from accessing social media come into force, details about what platforms will be involved and what tools will be used to figure out a person's age remain unclear.
Head of the nation's online safety regulator Julie Inman Grant said, despite a lack of clarity, she was "very confident" that the government would finalise the new restrictions by December 10.
"We may be building the plane a little bit as we're flying it, but there was an election and a caretaker period, and there was a period of time where this couldn't be discussed," Ms Inman Grant told the National Press Club on Tuesday.
"But I'm very confident we can get there."
The new laws, which passed Parliament last November with bipartisan support, are expected to cover Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, as well as Elon Musk's X.
Ms Inman Grant will begin industry consultation this week after calling on Communications Minister Anika Wells to reverse an exemption granted last year to YouTube.
Under the legislation, companies face fines up to $50 million if they are found to have failed to take "reasonable steps" to block users under 16 from creating an account on their platforms.
Ms Inman Grant said there would be no penalties for children who flouted the rules or parents who allowed restricted use. However, she foresees that platforms will be compelled to use a mix of different age-verification tools to verify a user's age.
"We're referring to this as a social media delay. Not a ban. You know, a ban suggests a total prohibition," she told the National Press Club on Tuesday.
"This is about putting the burden back on the platforms themselves. I don't think it's going to happen overnight."
Ms Inman Grant also suggested that age restrictions on AI chatbots should be brought under consideration after flagging that some children were spending "up to five hours a day" engaging with sexualised chatbots.
New industry codes, which come into force this week, will threaten tech companies with fines up to $49.5 million if their generative AI platforms are used to create child pornography or terrorist material.
It came after a report published by the eSafety Commissioner in March found that Meta's WhatsApp and Telegram did not roll out measures to detect violent content or extremism spread on their platforms.
Ms Inman Grant said she would consider the effectiveness of the codes at the end of the month and, if not satisfied, would look to enforce "mandatory standards" on companies like ChatGPT, Bard, and Bing.
"The rise of powerful, cheap and accessible AI models without built-in guardrails or age restrictions are a further hazard for our children," she said.
The federal government has previously flagged support for a European-union style artificial intelligence act to regulate high-risk use of the technology, which is still under consideration.
Australia's eSafety Commissioner has called to rebrand a social media ban for under-16s as a "social media delay" after conceding that new laws won't entirely prevent underage access to TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
Six months until laws restricting Australians under the age of 16 from accessing social media come into force, details about what platforms will be involved and what tools will be used to figure out a person's age remain unclear.
Head of the nation's online safety regulator Julie Inman Grant said, despite a lack of clarity, she was "very confident" that the government would finalise the new restrictions by December 10.
"We may be building the plane a little bit as we're flying it, but there was an election and a caretaker period, and there was a period of time where this couldn't be discussed," Ms Inman Grant told the National Press Club on Tuesday.
"But I'm very confident we can get there."
The new laws, which passed Parliament last November with bipartisan support, are expected to cover Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, as well as Elon Musk's X.
Ms Inman Grant will begin industry consultation this week after calling on Communications Minister Anika Wells to reverse an exemption granted last year to YouTube.
Under the legislation, companies face fines up to $50 million if they are found to have failed to take "reasonable steps" to block users under 16 from creating an account on their platforms.
Ms Inman Grant said there would be no penalties for children who flouted the rules or parents who allowed restricted use. However, she foresees that platforms will be compelled to use a mix of different age-verification tools to verify a user's age.
"We're referring to this as a social media delay. Not a ban. You know, a ban suggests a total prohibition," she told the National Press Club on Tuesday.
"This is about putting the burden back on the platforms themselves. I don't think it's going to happen overnight."
Ms Inman Grant also suggested that age restrictions on AI chatbots should be brought under consideration after flagging that some children were spending "up to five hours a day" engaging with sexualised chatbots.
New industry codes, which come into force this week, will threaten tech companies with fines up to $49.5 million if their generative AI platforms are used to create child pornography or terrorist material.
It came after a report published by the eSafety Commissioner in March found that Meta's WhatsApp and Telegram did not roll out measures to detect violent content or extremism spread on their platforms.
Ms Inman Grant said she would consider the effectiveness of the codes at the end of the month and, if not satisfied, would look to enforce "mandatory standards" on companies like ChatGPT, Bard, and Bing.
"The rise of powerful, cheap and accessible AI models without built-in guardrails or age restrictions are a further hazard for our children," she said.
The federal government has previously flagged support for a European-union style artificial intelligence act to regulate high-risk use of the technology, which is still under consideration.
Australia's eSafety Commissioner has called to rebrand a social media ban for under-16s as a "social media delay" after conceding that new laws won't entirely prevent underage access to TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
Six months until laws restricting Australians under the age of 16 from accessing social media come into force, details about what platforms will be involved and what tools will be used to figure out a person's age remain unclear.
Head of the nation's online safety regulator Julie Inman Grant said, despite a lack of clarity, she was "very confident" that the government would finalise the new restrictions by December 10.
"We may be building the plane a little bit as we're flying it, but there was an election and a caretaker period, and there was a period of time where this couldn't be discussed," Ms Inman Grant told the National Press Club on Tuesday.
"But I'm very confident we can get there."
The new laws, which passed Parliament last November with bipartisan support, are expected to cover Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, as well as Elon Musk's X.
Ms Inman Grant will begin industry consultation this week after calling on Communications Minister Anika Wells to reverse an exemption granted last year to YouTube.
Under the legislation, companies face fines up to $50 million if they are found to have failed to take "reasonable steps" to block users under 16 from creating an account on their platforms.
Ms Inman Grant said there would be no penalties for children who flouted the rules or parents who allowed restricted use. However, she foresees that platforms will be compelled to use a mix of different age-verification tools to verify a user's age.
"We're referring to this as a social media delay. Not a ban. You know, a ban suggests a total prohibition," she told the National Press Club on Tuesday.
"This is about putting the burden back on the platforms themselves. I don't think it's going to happen overnight."
Ms Inman Grant also suggested that age restrictions on AI chatbots should be brought under consideration after flagging that some children were spending "up to five hours a day" engaging with sexualised chatbots.
New industry codes, which come into force this week, will threaten tech companies with fines up to $49.5 million if their generative AI platforms are used to create child pornography or terrorist material.
It came after a report published by the eSafety Commissioner in March found that Meta's WhatsApp and Telegram did not roll out measures to detect violent content or extremism spread on their platforms.
Ms Inman Grant said she would consider the effectiveness of the codes at the end of the month and, if not satisfied, would look to enforce "mandatory standards" on companies like ChatGPT, Bard, and Bing.
"The rise of powerful, cheap and accessible AI models without built-in guardrails or age restrictions are a further hazard for our children," she said.
The federal government has previously flagged support for a European-union style artificial intelligence act to regulate high-risk use of the technology, which is still under consideration.
Australia's eSafety Commissioner has called to rebrand a social media ban for under-16s as a "social media delay" after conceding that new laws won't entirely prevent underage access to TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.
Six months until laws restricting Australians under the age of 16 from accessing social media come into force, details about what platforms will be involved and what tools will be used to figure out a person's age remain unclear.
Head of the nation's online safety regulator Julie Inman Grant said, despite a lack of clarity, she was "very confident" that the government would finalise the new restrictions by December 10.
"We may be building the plane a little bit as we're flying it, but there was an election and a caretaker period, and there was a period of time where this couldn't be discussed," Ms Inman Grant told the National Press Club on Tuesday.
"But I'm very confident we can get there."
The new laws, which passed Parliament last November with bipartisan support, are expected to cover Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, as well as Elon Musk's X.
Ms Inman Grant will begin industry consultation this week after calling on Communications Minister Anika Wells to reverse an exemption granted last year to YouTube.
Under the legislation, companies face fines up to $50 million if they are found to have failed to take "reasonable steps" to block users under 16 from creating an account on their platforms.
Ms Inman Grant said there would be no penalties for children who flouted the rules or parents who allowed restricted use. However, she foresees that platforms will be compelled to use a mix of different age-verification tools to verify a user's age.
"We're referring to this as a social media delay. Not a ban. You know, a ban suggests a total prohibition," she told the National Press Club on Tuesday.
"This is about putting the burden back on the platforms themselves. I don't think it's going to happen overnight."
Ms Inman Grant also suggested that age restrictions on AI chatbots should be brought under consideration after flagging that some children were spending "up to five hours a day" engaging with sexualised chatbots.
New industry codes, which come into force this week, will threaten tech companies with fines up to $49.5 million if their generative AI platforms are used to create child pornography or terrorist material.
It came after a report published by the eSafety Commissioner in March found that Meta's WhatsApp and Telegram did not roll out measures to detect violent content or extremism spread on their platforms.
Ms Inman Grant said she would consider the effectiveness of the codes at the end of the month and, if not satisfied, would look to enforce "mandatory standards" on companies like ChatGPT, Bard, and Bing.
"The rise of powerful, cheap and accessible AI models without built-in guardrails or age restrictions are a further hazard for our children," she said.
The federal government has previously flagged support for a European-union style artificial intelligence act to regulate high-risk use of the technology, which is still under consideration.
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Anthony Albanese has weighed in on Donald Trump dropping the F-bomb after becoming frustrated that Iran and Israel violated a ceasefire brokered by the US president. The US president attacked on both nations for breaching the agreement in the early stages, saying "they don't know what the f*** they are doing" on live television. His comments came after Israel accused Iran of breaking the truce. The prime minister said Mr Trump's views on the situation in the Middle East were obvious, while also calling for the ceasefire agreement to remain in effect. "President Trump made some pretty clear statements. I don't think it needs any further reflection. I think that he stated his views pretty abruptly and I think they were very clear," Mr Albanese told reporters in Launceston on Wednesday. "We want to see peace in the region, we want to see a ceasefire, we want to see de-escalation, and that is consistent with the very clear comments of President Trump." 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