Ireland, along with other European Union member states, is examining the question of prohibiting access by children and young people to social media platforms – the so-called “digital age of majority”, a spokesperson for the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport has said.
“Ireland is of the view that it would be preferable for any decision to be taken by the EU and EU Member States together and that we should have regard to the rights of children and young people,” the spokesperson said.
“In that context, it should be noted that in September, European Commission Ursula van der Leyen announced that she would establish an expert panel to examine the issue, including the implementation of Australia’s social media age restriction policy and advise her on the best approach for Europe in taking next steps on social media regulation,” they added.
The comments from the department come as tech giant Meta said it was starting to remove under-16s in Australia from Instagram, Threads and Facebook ahead of the country’s world-first youth social media ban.
Australia is requiring major online platforms, also including TikTok and YouTube, to block underage users by 10 December, when the new law comes into force.
Companies face fines of Aus$49.5 million (€28 million) if they fail to take “reasonable steps” to comply.
“While we are working hard to remove all users who we understand to be under the age of 16 by 10 December, compliance with the law will be an ongoing and multi-layered process,” a Meta spokesperson said.
Younger users can save and download their online histories, the spokesperson for the US company added.
“Before you turn 16, we will notify you that you will soon be allowed to regain access and your content will be restored exactly as you left it,” it added.
Hundreds of thousands of adolescents are expected to be impacted by the ban, with Instagram alone reporting about 350,000 Australian users aged 13 to 15.
Some popular apps and websites such as Roblox, Pinterest and WhatsApp are exempt, but the list remains under review.
Meta said it was committed to complying with the Australian law, but it called for app stores to be held accountable for checking ages instead.
“The government should require app stores to verify age and obtain parental approval whenever teens under 16 download apps, eliminating the need for teens to verify their age multiple times across different apps,” the spokesperson said.
“Social media platforms could then use this verified age information to ensure teens are in age-appropriate experiences,” they added.
YouTube has also criticised the social media ban.
The video-streaming giant said this week the new law would make young Australians “less safe” because under-16s could still visit the website without an account but would lose YouTube safety filters.
But Australia’s communications minister described its argument as “weird”.
“If YouTube is reminding us all that it is not safe and there’s content not appropriate for age-restricted users on their website, that’s a problem that YouTube needs to fix,” Communications Minister Anika Wells said.
“This specific law will not fix every harm occurring on the internet, but it will make it easier for kids to chase a better version of themselves,” she added.
An internet rights group last week launched a legal challenge to halt the ban in Australia.
The Digital Freedom Project said it had challenged the laws in Australia’s High Court, calling them an “unfair” assault on freedom of speech.
Australia expects rebellious teens will do their best to skirt the laws. Guidelines warn they might try to upload fake IDs or use AI to make their photos appear older.
Platforms are expected to devise their own means to stop this happening, but “no solution is likely to be 100% effective”, the internet safety watchdog has said.
There is keen interest in whether Australia’s sweeping restrictions can work, as regulators around the globe wrestle with the potential dangers of social media.
Malaysia indicated it was planning to block children under 16 from signing up to social media accounts next year, while New Zealand will introduce a similar ban.
Separately, the European Commission opened an investigation into Meta over its roll out of artificial intelligence features on WhatsApp, amid concerns that the company may have abused its dominance by blocking rival AI chatbots from the messaging platform.
A WhatsApp spokesperson has described the claims as baseless.
‘Just freezing’ online services for children would be ‘no good’ – CyberSafeKids
Chief Executive of online safety charity CyberSafeKids Alex Cooney, said it is a “European-wide concern” and that a number of countries have “indicated” that they also wish to take action, so the “swell of public opinion is starting to make a difference”.
She said the “big question is whether or not it would bring about the reform within those online environments that we really need to see”.
She said that “just freezing” online services for children and young people would be no good: “Instagram talked about freezing the account until the day they turn 16.
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“So they’re just thrown straight back into the same kind of environment on their 16th birthday.
“We need to see real change and really age-appropriate spaces that children can engage in,” she said.
Ms Cooney called for regulation with “teeth” and age verification that also safeguards privacy.
She said technology for this exists: “Privacy-preserving age verification is there.”
“What I would really question though is whether the tech companies should own that process….
“That’s like the fox guarding the chicken coop, we don’t want to be handing any more of our precious data to these companies, so I think it should be trusted third parties.
“I think they should be European-wide, I think you should have to apply to be part of this process and that those are the solutions that these companies must use,” she said
Irish media regulator signs online safety agreement with Australia
Meanwhile, Coimisiún na Meán signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Australian eSafety Commissioner (eSafety).
The agreement affirms the intention of the two organisations to collaborate on online safety.
Coimisiún na Meán said the objective of this collaboration is to increase expertise in the area of digital regulation and online safety through exchange of information, data, good practices, methodologies, and of information about technical systems and tools.
“We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the Australian eSafety Commissioner on areas of common interest, including sharing best practices on online safety,” said Online Safety Commissioner at Coimisiún na Meán Niamh Hodnett.
“This Memorandum of Understanding will help us work towards ensuring a safer and more positive online environment for all our citizens and support wider regulatory co-operation,” Ms Hodnett said.
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said working with international counterparts allows them to strengthen online safety globally while respecting each nation’s regulatory framework.
“This agreement reflects Australia and Ireland’s shared commitment to embedding safety into the very architecture of digital products and services, improving platform accountability, and building safer, more rights-respecting online experiences for all,” Ms Inman Grant said.
“Ireland and Australia are particularly aligned around the protection of minors and the successful implementation of age assurance technologies,” she added
The MoU identifies areas of common interest between Coimisiún na Meán and the eSafety Commissioner, in relation to their roles in implementing regulatory frameworks for online safety in Ireland and Australia respectively.
The MoU also highlights the potential for cooperation in the development of policies as well as activities related to online safety education.
Additional reporting: AFP
