As teens flee to apps like Yope and Lemon8, Anika Wells says she’ll ban those too
Communications Minister Anika Wells said social media companies should be prepared for $50 million fines if they fail to kick children off their platforms within six months, but acknowledged that some children will continue to access their accounts in the meantime, while others will turn to new apps.
Wells also said he would not hesitate to ban additional tech platforms if trends continue to show increased downloads of alternative social media apps like Yope and Lemon8.
As the Albanian government prepares to review the under-16 social media ban when it comes into effect on December 10, Wells will address the National Press Club on Wednesday to temper expectations for the first few months.
“The question you’re all eagerly awaiting the answer to: Who will get the first $50 million fine on December 10? The bureaucrats in the room will support me here – but regulation rarely works quickly, and it’s certainly not that fast,” he will say in his speech.
The e-Security Commission will send a notice to the 10 technology companies on the ban list next week, asking how many accounts they registered with minors on December 9, before the law started, and how many accounts remained on December 11, the day after the ban started.
Snapchat, for example, told the Senate it estimated it had 440,000 underage users, while TikTok had 200,000. “These platforms will have time to respond before the next requests for information are sent out requesting updated figures every month for six months,” Wells will say.
“The government recognizes that it may take several days or even weeks for age assurance to be completed fairly and accurately. However, if eSafety detects systematic violations of the law, platforms will face fines of up to $49.5 million.”
There are approximately 2.5 million children aged eight to 15 in Australia, according to 2021 census data, and the government estimates that 86 per cent of people in this age group use social media.
Tech platforms that must comply with the launch date include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit and streaming platforms Kick and Twitch. Some have already started telling users that their accounts have been marked for removal.
But as kids begin to flock to other apps – photo-sharing service Yope and TikTok-linked platform Lemon8 top the list of Australia’s most downloaded apps – Wells has signaled more platforms will be added to the government’s list.
“The eSafety Commissioner and I are looking at migration patterns… If we find that because they are logging out of Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok [or] “What, they go to Lemon8, then we’ll see if the damage is transferred there and if we need to add them to the list,” he said.
“We’ll have more to say about Lemon8 this week, so stay tuned.
“I will not hesitate to take action should any platform like Lemon8 become the new source.”
“There will continue to be kids with accounts on December 10th and probably for a while after that,” Wells will concede in his speech on Wednesday.
“But our expectation is clear: Any company that allows this is breaking the law. Children are smart and they inherently try to bypass systems,” he will say. “We know from day one that it won’t be perfect, but we won’t give up and let the platforms off the hook.”
The coalition supports the social media ban but finds issues with its timing and implementation, while the Greens oppose it, arguing it infringes on children’s rights to connect and find online communities.
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Natassia Chrysanthos is a Federal Political Correspondent. He has previously reported on immigration, health, social issues and the NDIS from Parliament House in Canberra.Connect with: excitement or email.
