Elon Musk lifts Australia’s social media ban: Backdoor way to control access

US billionaire Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, criticized Australia’s proposed law banning social media for children Companies will be fined up to A$49.5 million (US$32 million) for systemic violations against under-16s and social media platforms.

Australia’s center-left government introduced the bill to parliament on Thursday. It plans to trial an age verification system to enforce social media age restrictions, one of the toughest controls ever implemented by any country.

“It appears to be a backdoor way to control all Australians’ access to the internet,” Musk, who considers himself a defender of free speech, said late Thursday in a response to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s post on X about the bill.

Many countries have already pledged to curb children’s social media use through legislation, but Australia’s policy could become one of the strictest, with no parental consent and no exemptions for pre-existing accounts.

Last year, France proposed banning social media for under-15s but allowed parental consent; For decades, the United States has required technology companies to obtain parental consent to access the data of children under 13.

Musk has previously clashed with Australia’s centre-left Labor government over its social media policies, calling it “fascist” over its misinformation law.

In April, X went to an Australian court to challenge a cyber regulator’s decision to remove some posts about the stabbing of a bishop in Sydney, prompting Albanese to call Musk an “arrogant billionaire”.