Press conference - Canberra
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER : Good afternoon again. Well its been 6 months since the start of our world-leading aged social media ban started and I'm joined by the Minister. But importantly as well, I'm joined by Wayne Holdsworth, parent of Mac, and Mia Bannister, the parent of Ollie.
This is a change in the world that has been led by Australian parents. Who have taken what are personal tragedies and channelled that into a demand for action to protect our younger citizens. And that has made an enormous difference, and I do want to thank Wayne and Mia and others who are just joined online by Emma, who is out of Australia at the moment, for the courage that they have shown.
They are truly inspirational Australians. More than 5 million social media accounts for under 16s have been deactivated as a result of this ban. It has created a global conversation and we are proud of it.
Many nations are now following our lead, indeed at least 20 to implement their own bans. However, it's clear that big tech are not doing enough to comply with the law and there are still too many children on social media. So, we're calling time on the social media companies today and doubling down on the changes that we have made and that we're prepared to make .
Today we'll introduce legislation this afternoon that goes further to ensure social media companies are doing everything within their power to stop children under 16 being on their platforms. We're doubling the fines, we're giving the eSafety Commissioner world leading powers to compel them to comply. This is the right thing to do.
We're committed to backing the Australian parents that led this global movement. And this week and next week, our nation's children are heading on their school holidays and we want them on the football fields, on the netball courts, not on their phones because this will make an enormous difference. We said when we did this legislation that it wouldn't be perfect and indeed we're going to have to see over the years because technology changes with nudify apps, with algorithms, with all of these changes that occur with new technologies.
We will have to be - whoever is in government will have to be - vigilant and prepared to make changes and continue to keep on top of this issue. I do want to pay tribute to Peter Dutton, the former Leader of the Opposition who backed these reforms as well and made sure that they were bipartisan when the legislation carried. We'll be asking for similar support across the Parliament for this legislation from both the Opposition, but crossbenchers as well.
This is a national issue. In the interests of our youngest and most vulnerable Australians, we have a responsibility to do what we can to protect them. ANIKA WELLS, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS: Thanks, PM.
In December last year, the Prime Minister and I stood alongside Mia, Wayne and Emma and other parents whose children had suffered the worst possible consequences of social media. We promised to put children ahead of profit. We promised to put children ahead of billion dollar tech companies.
We promise to be relentless in our pursuit of getting under 16s off social media. Since our world leading laws started, more than 5 million under 16 accounts have been deactivated or removed. Early research shows 30% of kids are playing more sport, 27% of kids are getting better sleep, online bullying is down and children are receiving access to less inappropriate content online.
My message to parents is this: our laws have made an impact and we are not stopping, because just today I heard of a 13-year-old who opened a new social media account and wasn't even asked her age. It is simply not good enough. It is big tech using classic big tech tactics, doing the bare minimum and thinking that they are above domestic law.
My message to big tech is this: we are not stopping. Every effort you make to frustrate these laws will be met with our efforts to make these laws work. Today we are giving the eSafety Commissioner more robust powers to investigate your conduct and we are ramping up fines to $99 million.
If the eSafety Commissioner fines companies are not doing everything they can to comply, they will face the full force of the law. Overnight I received an email from a parent of a teenager thanking the Albanese Government and urging us to keep going. Thank you, Tanya, for your support and thank you to Mia, Wayne and Emma who joined us earlier to talk about the importance of these world leading laws.
We remain determined to hold these companies to account and to let Australian kids be kids. We will not blink. And please welcome an inspiration in Australia to the lectern, Wayne Holdsworth.
WAYNE HOLDSWORTH : Thanks very much Prime Minister and Minister Wells. It gives me enormous pleasure to be here today. Our son Mac took his life at 17 partly because he was sexually extorted online.
And our aim with Mia and Emma has been to ensure that no one goes through the pain that they went through and subsequently their parents and family and friends. The implementation of this legislation and the day that it was effected December 10, 2025 is an historic day in this country's history and I'm really proud to be an Australian. We are the first country in the world to have gone down this track and now 20 have followed.
When I was growing up in the 70s in Victoria, we were one of the very first states to introduce compulsory seat belts. They weren't retractable, they were loose fitting. Now they're retractable and in front and back seats.
This legislation will be the same. It will be a moving feast. It will get better and better.
The collaboration with News Corp and Mel Pilling, the collaboration with the Government and the Opposition, but also the education through organisations such as mine, Smack Talk, Not for Profit, we educate people and Mia, through Ollie's Echo, educate people and children on the impact social media can have on you. And it's so very important. As late as last Monday, I spoke with three organisations, over 1100 children.
And one boy, 15 came up to me at the end of that session and he said to me that I'm glad I went because I had a plan for that night. He got help with his mum and dad and through Lifeline and he's with us today. So, along with the legislation, the sanctions which are excellent, but education, we will defeat the tech giants.
Thank you. PRIME MINISTER : Thanks so much, Wayne. We'll now hear from Mia Bannister.
MIA BANNISTER : Thank you, Prime Minister and Minister Wells, for having us here today. Also fellow parents Wayne Holdsworth and Emma Mason. Unfortunately, Emma is overseas, so missing her today.
I think the changes to this legislation are called for. We knew that the legislation wasn't going to be perfect. We are now filling those gaps and I thank the Prime Minister for recognising that and giving the eSafety Commissioner more power to get up and and enact change and take some action.
Wayne pretty much said everything that I needed to say today, so the one thing I'm going to say to everybody is that last year on the 30th of July, I stood here and I said, together we make change happen and together we will keep going. So, we will keep going for Ollie, for Tilly and for Mac and all the lost children. Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER : Thanks so much, Mia. Can I just give a shout out to the Let Them Be Kids campaign and 36 Months, it has been quite extraordinary providing vehicles and support for parents to tell their story and to show the leadership that they have shown. : Minister, what's the evidence that eSafety will be able to compel? What's the kind of data that they'll be asking the tech giant to hand over and are we really confident that $100 million fines on the line is going to be a big enough stick to get them to abide by these rules.
MINISTER WELLS : The amendments will allow the eSafety Commissioner to compel documents rather than just information. So, the laws as they currently stand mean that the eSafety Commissioner asks these tech companies to provide information on a monthly basis, as you would imagine at the moment, because we believe they're taking the mickey. There's a lot of faff around that and essentially she has to take them at their word.
Being able to compel documents means that she can require, like with a police investigation, maybe minutes, emails, evidence between third party providers and the big tech companies. So, an example is also because we're moving an amendment where she can compel documents from third party providers, age assurance companies that are doing this work for people like Meta will also be provided to - will be compelled to provide documents back to the eSafety Commissioner.
That forms a stronger body of evidence for a court case. : Prime Minister, when do you expect we might actually see action taken against social media companies once this legislation passes and these new powers are in place? And if I could just pick up on that Minister, in terms of that information being compelled, is there anything that would allow, for example, the example you gave of a 13 year old not getting age verified when they sign up, couldn't that stand as evidence that allows the eSafety Commissioner to look into that or does it have to be documents from the company?
PRIME MINISTER : On the former, the reason why we want this legislation carried as soon as possible is so that we can take further action as soon as possible and we won't blink on this, we have shown that we are determined. And I say this, that when we did the legislation on December 10, it was seen as being bold and some said it would result in retaliations and there would be consequences from some of the companies and those who backed them.
We didn't shy away. The fact that it was bipartisan assisted with that process and since then what we've seen is literally in a relatively short period of time to get this action multiplied around the world, in Europe, in North America, with US states, in Asia, in places like Indonesia and Malaysia as well in our region, shows how significant it is. MINISTER WELLS : On the second question, I think whilst we can't, whilst the eSafety Commissioner would like us not to elaborate on the particular nature of documents that she might be requesting, in the same way that a police investigation doesn't go public on what kind of affidavits or pieces of evidence they are compiling for an investigation before she goes to the Federal Court.
You could imagine, given that the test is systemic neglect, that a systemic neglect would be emboldened by documents from companies about directions to branches that are doing the implementation, board minutes, that kind of thing. : Thanks. Prime Minister, Minister, you've said again today that the media, social media companies will face the full force of the law.
We heard that six months ago. I guess further to clia's question, can you explain why no action has been taken if a recent research paper of the Uni of Newcastle found that 85% of kids are getting around these regulations, these laws and getting online and accessing these social media platforms? The social media giants must know that they're clients.
Why has no action? Why has there been no fines up to date? MINISTER WELLS : I guess there's a few elements to that.
The independent regulator in this space is the eSafety Commissioner. This means that she has to take these companies to the Federal Court and ultimately a judge will make a decision about whether they are fined now, as of once we pass this legislation, $99 million. My job as the Minister is to make sure that the laws she can use and emboldening her with the ability to compel documents are as strong as possible for her to form the strongest possible case to take to the Federal Court.
And as the eSafety Commissioner, she must also be a model litigant. So, that is behind the improvements to the law that we seek to move today. And I think also the fact that the cultural change around this, these companies want these laws to fail.
These companies secure this research, promote this research, ask the media to cover all of the individual instances and the broader patterns around these laws not working as effectively as we would all like them to do because they don't want the more than 20 nations who have followed in the Prime Minister's stand to continue it. They want them to discontinue it.
They don't want this to flood across the globe. So, I think we are also up against a very determined campaign by big tech to throw as much doubt across this as possible to dissuade other countries. And that's why we are making so clear today that we will not back down. : We've heard that social media giants aren't doing enough to stop antisemitism.
It's been a theme throughout the Royal Commission. There's also been some social media giants that haven't engaged as the Royal Commission would have liked. Would you urge them to take part in this.
And also, would it help if social media giants and media organisations adopt the IHRA definition? Is that something that you would encourage all media organisations and tech companies to do? PRIME MINISTER : Firstly, yes, in a word, in terms of compliance.
The Royal Commission, of course, is independent of government. It's very important it be allowed to do its work, which it's doing very effectively. Thanks very much.
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