Federal MP slams social media ban rollout

FEDERAL Monash MP Mary Aldred has slammed the federal government's handling of the under-16 social media ban as social media heavyweight Meta began deactivating accounts on Thursday.

Ms Aldred told the Sentinel-Times the ban was filled with uncertainties including a "lacklustre education campaign".

"The federal Labor government is yet to give Australians confidence the ban is going to work," she said.

"There is still no clarity on what age verification will look like or how it will be implemented, and I'm getting a lot of feedback on this from Monash residents."

The Facebook, Instagram and Threads owner started enforcing the new law six days before the December 10 deadline in a bid to remove more than 500,000 users aged between 13 and 15 from its platforms.

As of Thursday morning, many young Australians were unable to access their Meta accounts and were required to submit a "video selfie" or government ID to verify they were over 16.

Meta has criticised the legislation as "rushed", stating it ignored "the voices of young people" and undermined what the industry already does "to ensure age-appropriate experiences".

Ms Aldred said there had been a severe lack of education on how the ban would both work and be enforced.

"It is extraordinary that a year on from the social media age minimum being legislated, the federal Labor government is still scrambling over the details of the under-16 social media ban that begins on December 10," she said.

"There are still several things the government has not been clear about, including whether a platform can compel Australians to use digital identification for age verification, and even which platforms are going to be included."

Last month, South Gippsland Shire councillor Steve Finlay raised concerns about the ban being a backdoor way to implement a national digital ID system.

Cr Finlay questioned whether the age verification requirements would eventually extend to all Australians, not just children.