Reddit and Kick added to child social media ban
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The news: The government has added another two tech platforms to list of companies that will be banned for people under the age of sixteen under Australia’s world-first social media ban.
The context: Communications Minister Anika Wells will on Wednesday confirm that social messaging forum Reddit and live streaming platform Kick will be added to the list of social media companies that will be covered by the ban which comes into effect in early December.
Reddit and Kick will join Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, X, Facebook and Instagram, which includes Threads, as "age-restricted" next month.
Wells left the door open to further additions, saying assessments are “ongoing and this list is dynamic”
“Online platforms can target children with chilling control,” Wells said on Tuesday. “We are mandating they use that sophisticated technology to protect them. I have met with major social media platforms in the past month so they understand there is no excuse for failure in implementing this law.”
Wells said that the platforms have “no excuse for failure” in implementing the ban which will see companies risk paying fines of up to $49.5 million should they fail to comply.
The eSafety Commission declared that the services currently meet the criteria for being included in the ban, specifically that their "sole or significant purpose is to enable online social interaction".
Certain other platforms that were written to by eSafety, including Roblox, Discord, Steam, Twitch, WhatsApp and Pinterest, will not be included in the ban as the rules exempt platforms that are primarily used for online gaming and messaging.
