Wendy Askew (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

At the request of Senator Dean Smith, I move:

That the Senate—

(a) notes that order for the production of documents no. 383, made on 4 March 2026, relating to the process of verifying the claim by the Government that 4.7 million under-16 social media accounts had been deactivated, removed or restricted under its ban, has not been complied with;

(b) notes the response of the Minister for Communications, tabled on 26 March 2026:

(i) indicates that responses from 10 social media platforms to compulsory notices issued by the eSafety Commissioner informed the Government's announcement, and

(ii) stated, at a general level, that it would not be in the public interest to disclose the specific information obtained by eSafety or in its subsequent work on the basis that disclosure may prejudice eSafety investigations; and

(c) requires the Minister representing the Minister for Communications to, by no later than midday on 28 April 2026:

(i) fully comply with the order, or

(ii) table any documents, or parts of documents, within scope of the order that would enable the Senate to verify the claimed number of accounts deactivated, removed or restricted under the social media ban, or

(iii) table a list describing each document within scope of the order with an explanation for each document as to why it is not in the public interest to disclose the document.

Question agreed to.