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Australia’s information watchdog has outlined the legal obligations of social media platforms as the social media age ban’s rollout date approaches.
The Social Media Minimum Age (SMMA) scheme, which was first passed in November last year, is set to come into effect on 10 December, requiring those signing up to social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and more to be 16 years of age or older.
The onus of ensuring that Australians under 16 do not access these platforms is on the social media platforms themselves.
Now, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has released new guidance outlining the responsibilities of social media platforms and age assurance providers.
“Today, we’re putting age-restricted social media platforms on notice,” privacy commissioner Carly Kind said.
“The OAIC is here to guard and uplift the privacy protections of all Australians by ensuring that the age assurance methods used by age-restricted social media platforms and age assurance providers are lawful.”
The new OAIC guidance outlines a number of responsibilities, such as for social media organisations to choose “age assurance methods that are necessary and proportionate” as well as vetting them for privacy risks and impacts, minimising the inclusion of personal and sensitive data, destroying information collected for SMMA purposes (not including information the social media platforms have already collected for other reasons), ensuring that other use of the data is purely consensual and remaining transparent about how the data is used.
“The OAIC is committed to ensuring the successful rollout of the SMMA regime by robustly applying and regulating the privacy rules contained in the legislation, in order to reassure the Australian community that their privacy is protected,” Kind said.
The OAIC’s guidance closely follows guidance released by the eSafety Commissioner, which outlined the steps social media brands should take as the ban approaches.
“eSafety has provided the rules of the game with their ‘reasonable steps’. Now the OAIC is setting out what is out-of-bounds when it comes to the handling of personal information for age assurance in the social media minimum age context,” Kind said.
“Together, eSafety and the OAIC’s regulatory guidance outlines the field of play for age-restricted social media platforms and third-party age assurance providers.”
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