dailynewsnblog
Social media platforms investigated for ‘potential non-compliance’
Josh Butler
Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube are being investigated for “potential non-compliance” with the under 16s social media ban, with the Albanese government saying some of their systems to weed out underage users are “unacceptable”.
The eSafety Commission on Tuesday will release an update on compliance with the social media ban, which forbids those under 16 from having accounts with some of the biggest tech platforms.
Guardian Australia understands the report says some of the big tech platforms have been assessed by eSafety as having “unacceptable” systems, with claims that some are allowing children to repeatedly attempt age assurance tests until they pass, are not doing enough to stop banned users from simply creating new accounts, and have poor systems for parents and others to report underage users.
It’s understood that eSafety is investigating potential non-compliance by Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.
The communications minister, Anika Wells, claimed some of the platforms subject to the rules are seeking to “undermine” the government’s laws.
If eSafety finds these companies have systemically failed to uphold their legal obligations, I expect the commissioner to throw the book at them.
Fines under the social media minimum age laws can reach up to $49.5m.
All of the platforms covered by our social media minimum age requirement said they would respect the law. If these companies want to do business in Australia, they must obey Australian laws.
Key events
Andrew Messenger
Crisafulli criticises PM’s four-stage fuel security plan
Queensland’s premier David Crisafulli says he doesn’t support “blanket mandates” for work from home and has criticised a four-stage fuel security plan announced by the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, on Monday.
Albanese has not ruled out encouraging or mandating working from home to reduce fuel demand as part of the plan.
Crisafulli, who has pushed the commonwealth to create a national dashboard of information about fuel shortages, said the failure to explain when each level would be adopted or how much fuel is in the country “doesn’t fill people with confidence”.
“There is no world where I support work-from-home mandates; that sends entirely the wrong message,” Crisafulli said at a press conference on Monday evening.
The Queensland premier also argued for “an unrelenting focus” on additional domestic oil production, exploration and stoage so Australia would “not be at the mercy of other nations”.
Asked if he wants Australia to be a net exporter he said:
Well, considering we [are] well under 50% at the moment, that’s a lofty ambition, but let’s just say it’d be good to control our own destiny it wasn’t that long ago that we were … almost double where we were now – it wasn’t that long ago.
Government ‘deeply concerned’ about military escalation in Lebanon
Moving on to the ABC AM program, Penny Wong ruled out any Australian involvement in the war, including to send boots on the ground.
It’s a position the government has held since the beginning of the conflict, that all Australian support to the region (including the deployment of the E7-A wedgetail aircraft) is defensive.
Wong says:
Our posture is defensive, not offensive. We’ve made that very clear and we provided defensive capability when Iran chose to attack countries that … were not party to taking strikes on Iran.
Wong also says the government is deeply concerned about the escalation of conflict in Lebanon.
Last week the foreign minister spoke to her Israeli counterpart, Gideon Sa’ar, where she said the government does “not want to see occupation of southern Lebanon by Israel.”
This morning she reiterated that call:
We remain deeply concerned about escalation in Lebanon, the displacement of so many civilians.
Wong calls for de-escalation in Iran
Penny Wong says the government has “concerns” if the ongoing objective of the war is regime change in Iran.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast this morning after the prime minister more strongly questioned the objectives of the US remaining in conflict, Wong says many of the military objectives have already been achieved.
She says:
There’s obviously been a lot of military objectives the president has achieved in terms of Iranian air force, Iranian navy, Iran’s military industrial base and its capacity to launch missiles. We believe that it would be a good thing for the global economy and for Australians and certainly for the worl, if we could see de-escalation and these talks lead to a cessation of the conflict.
We have concerns if the objective is regime change, because we have said all along, this is ultimately a matter for the people of Iran.
Wong says the war is having an impact on global energy markets, including in the US.
More than 10,000 Australians return from Middle East
The number of Australians returning from the Middle East since the war broke out in Iran has ticked over 10,000.
The government says 10,372 Australians have now returned home on 103 direct commercial flights.
There are another three flights scheduled to arrive today – one to Melbourne and two to Sydney.
In a statement this morning, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said the government is urging deescalation but the conflict is volatile and could “deteriorate rapidly”.
Australians should not delay their departure from the region given the continued uncertainty.
Our message is simple: if you can secure a flight out of the Middle East and it’s safe to travel to the airport, leave now while commercial options are available.
Nino Bucci
Albanese backs US alliance, but wants clarity on Iran from Trump
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says the US war in Iran has not damaged Australia’s alliance with the country, despite him wanting the conflict to end or deescalate.
Albanese also said he wanted president Donald Trump to outline “a timeframe or a clearer objective” for the conflict that reflected the economic damage it was causing.
Albanese, speaking to the ABC on Monday night, said while Trump’s objectives were worthy, he wanted a sense of how the conflict could end, and whether those objectives could be met by negotiating, rather than escalation.
He said Australia continued to have positive communication with the US and dismissed a question that the conflict could endanger the alliance.
Albanese also agreed that the third of Trump’s objectives – regime change – had not necessarily been met.
What I’d like to see is a timeframe or a clearer objective. The president said at the beginning of this conflict that it was about three things.
It was about nuclear weapons and making sure that Iran can’t get a nuclear weapon. Secondly, we wanted to damage Iran’s capabilities to attack its neighbours or to assist its proxies in Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis and others … but the third was regime change.
I want to see a recognition of the economic damage that this conflict is continuing to result in. And I want to see any objective of what is to be achieved by further conflict rather than negotiation. And I want to see an end or a de-escalation to the conflict there.
Social media platforms investigated for ‘potential non-compliance’
Josh Butler
Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube are being investigated for “potential non-compliance” with the under 16s social media ban, with the Albanese government saying some of their systems to weed out underage users are “unacceptable”.
The eSafety Commission on Tuesday will release an update on compliance with the social media ban, which forbids those under 16 from having accounts with some of the biggest tech platforms.
Guardian Australia understands the report says some of the big tech platforms have been assessed by eSafety as having “unacceptable” systems, with claims that some are allowing children to repeatedly attempt age assurance tests until they pass, are not doing enough to stop banned users from simply creating new accounts, and have poor systems for parents and others to report underage users.
It’s understood that eSafety is investigating potential non-compliance by Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.
The communications minister, Anika Wells, claimed some of the platforms subject to the rules are seeking to “undermine” the government’s laws.
If eSafety finds these companies have systemically failed to uphold their legal obligations, I expect the commissioner to throw the book at them.
Fines under the social media minimum age laws can reach up to $49.5m.
All of the platforms covered by our social media minimum age requirement said they would respect the law. If these companies want to do business in Australia, they must obey Australian laws.
Krishani Dhanji
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you for another busy sitting day.
Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube are being investigated for “potential non-compliance” under the social media ban, with the eSafety commissioner releasing a compliance update today.
The government says more than 10,000 Australians have now returned from the Middle East, as the government calls for clarity over the “objectives” of the war – the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, will be doing the media rounds this morning.
And the prime minister is facing pressure from some of his favourite musicians, penning an open letter to push the government to adopt a new gas export tax.
It’s going to be another busy day, so let’s get stuck in!
