Anthony Albanese has set aside criticism from Elon Musk who opposed the Australian government’s social media ban for under 16s.
The prime minister told ABC’s Insiders he was willing to talk to anyone about the ban and how it will be implemented, but added that parliament had strongly supported it.
‘We’ll talk to anyone,’ he said on Sunday.
‘But with regard to Elon Musk, he has an agenda, he’s entitled to push that as the owner of X, formerly known as Twitter.
‘But we are determined to get this done. The parliament has overwhelmingly passed this legislation and it’s the right thing to do.’
Musk, whose social media platform X will be affected by the ban, had previously described the move as a ‘backdoor way to control access to the internet by all Australians’.
The ban will apply to children under the age of 16 and prevent them from using social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook in a world first.
Social media companies will have to comply by managing and implementing the ban – and can face whopping fines up to $50 million if they don’t.
Mr Albanese said he wants Australian children to ‘have a childhood’ where they can ‘engage with each other’.
It’s not the first time Mr Albanese and Musk have spoken out about their differing views.
In September, Musk doubled down on calling the Australian government ‘facists’ as he put down Labor’s proposed misinformation crackdown.
The misinformation bill has since been scrapped after it failed to gain support with communications minister Michelle Rowland making the announcement last Sunday.
The Prime Minister hit back at the tech billionaire’s ‘fascist’ dig by saying social media companies had a social responsibility.
‘If Mr Musk doesn’t understand that, that says more about him than it does about my government,’ he said.
The new legislation that bans under 16s from social media, was passed on Thursday night and will commence by the end of 2025.
The bill passed the Senate by 34 votes to 19 on the final parliament sitting day for 2024.
It will return to the House of Representatives – where Mr Albanese’s government has a majority.
The new laws are regarded as the strictest in the world.
Communications minister Michelle Rowland said the age limit would keep children and teenagers safe online.
‘We know parents are concerned about the harms to children and we have taken a decision to support them,’ she told parliament.
‘Keeping Australians safe online requires decisive action and the Albanese government is delivering exactly that.’
