澳大利亚通过16岁以下社交媒体禁令：全球首例，平台违规最高罚5000万澳元
澳大利亚国会11月28日晚在首都堪培拉通过《2024年网络安全修正案（社交媒体最低年龄）》，成为全球第一个以法律禁止16岁以下未成年人持有社交媒体账户的国家。法案由澳大利亚总理 Anthony Albanese 领导的政府提出，通信部长 Michelle Rowland 于11月21日向众议院提交；众议院11月27日以压倒性多数通过，参议院11月28日以34票赞成、19票反对通过。
法案修订澳大利亚《2021年网络安全法》，规定「年龄受限社交媒体平台」必须采取合理措施，阻止16岁以下的澳大利亚未成年人开设或持有账户。平台若系统性地未能履行义务，最高可被处以5000万澳元罚款；法案对未成年人本人及其父母不设任何处罚，法律责任全部落在平台一方。政府表示，禁令预计涵盖 Snapchat、TikTok、Facebook、Instagram 和 X 等平台，通讯类应用不在其列。
参议院通过的修正案加强了隐私保护：平台不得强迫用户提供护照、驾照等政府签发的身份证件来核验年龄，也不得要求用户通过政府系统进行数字身份验证。众议院11月29日接受参议院修正案，法案完成两院通过程序；总督于12月10日签署（御准），法案成为澳大利亚2024年第127号法令。法案给予平台一年时间落实，相关义务在一年后才开始执行。
Albanese 政府称，这项立法旨在保护澳大利亚青少年在成长关键阶段免受社交媒体有害影响。澳大利亚由此成为全球首个为社交媒体设定16岁全国最低年龄门槛的国家，该法此后成为多国讨论未成年人网络保护时的参照。（来源：澳大利亚国会）
Australia Passes World-First Social Media Ban for Children Under 16
Australia's Parliament, sitting in the capital Canberra, passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill on the night of November 28, making Australia the first country in the world to bar children under 16 from holding social media accounts by law. The bill was put forward by the government of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and introduced in the House of Representatives on November 21 by Communications Minister Michelle Rowland. The House passed it by an overwhelming majority on November 27, and the Senate passed it on November 28 by 34 votes to 19.
The law amends Australia's Online Safety Act 2021 and requires "age-restricted social media platforms" to take reasonable steps to prevent Australian children under 16 from creating or holding accounts. Platforms that systemically fail to comply face fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars; the law imposes no penalty on children or their parents, placing the legal duty entirely on the platforms. The government said the ban was expected to cover platforms including Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X, while messaging apps were outside its scope.
Amendments carried in the Senate strengthened privacy protections: platforms may not compel users to provide government-issued identity documents such as passports or driver's licenses to verify age, nor demand digital identification through a government system. The House of Representatives agreed to the Senate amendments on November 29, completing passage through both chambers, and the bill received royal assent on December 10, becoming Act No. 127 of 2024. Platforms were given one year to prepare before the obligations take effect.
The Albanese government said the legislation was intended to protect young Australians during critical stages of their development from the harmful impacts of social media. Australia thereby became the first country to set a nationwide minimum age of 16 for social media, and the law has since become a reference point in debates over children's online safety in other countries. (Source: Parliament of Australia)
来源：澳大利亚国会
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：澳大利亚国会大厦，位于澳大利亚首都堪培拉。Dietmar Rabich 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Parliament House in Canberra, capital of Australia. Photo by Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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