Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | Hansard source

The Albanese Labor government is on the side of families. We have faced and will continue to face pressure from major companies, but we can't be clearer: we are on the side of families in this. Delaying access to social media until the age of 16 will protect young Australians at a critical stage of their development, giving them three more years to build real-world connections and online resilience. There are heavy penalties of up to $49.5 million per breach for companies who fail to take reasonable steps to prevent underage account holders accessing their services. We want Australian parents and carers to know that the Albanese government has their backs. We are putting parents before platforms, because we know what a gift childhood is, and this gives children back their childhoods.