Australia to increase penalties for breaking rules to Rs 660 crore

Australia is set to tighten its laws to keep children under the age of 16 away from social media. Australia became the first country in the world to impose an age limit on a major social media platform for teenagers, but the government is not satisfied with the initial results. Under the law, the minimum age limit has been fixed for popular platforms like Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube. After this, countries like Britain, Canada, Indonesia and Brazil have also started taking similar steps. However, government reports show that even after the law came into force, teens' social media use has not declined as expected. Thousands of accounts have been shut down, but seven out of ten parents say their children's accounts are still active. Researchers have also found that most Australian teens are using some form of social media platform. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said big tech companies were not doing enough to ensure compliance with the law. According to him, a large number of children are still present on social media. Communications Minister Annika Wells accused tech companies of doing their least bit to evade regulations and adopting their old tactics. On the other hand, tech companies have termed the law as extremely harsh, saying it ignores the security measures already present on the platform. The banned platform Reddit has even filed a lawsuit against the Australian government. The company argues that the law infringes on children's rights to political dialogue and expression. Meanwhile, Australia's e-safety commissioner has launched an investigation into compliance with the law against Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube. It is the responsibility of the companies concerned to keep children away from the 10 social media platforms banned under the law. The maximum penalty on technology companies that break the law will be doubled to Rs 660 crore. The government says the legal powers of the online safety regulator will be extended. Companies will have to disclose what steps they have taken to keep children under the age of 16 away from their platforms.