Australian Online Privacy Bill to make social media age verification mandatory for tech giants

guest · Oct 25, 2021

Australian Online Privacy Bill to make social media age verification mandatory for tech giants, Reddit, Zoom, gaming platforms
A new Bill targeting social media platforms wants stronger penalties for user privacy breaches
October 25, 2021
https://www.zdnet.com/article/austr...for-tech-giants-reddit-zoom-gaming-platforms/

The federal government has released an exposure draft for what it has labelled an Online Privacy Bill that it hopes will enhance online privacy protections for Australians through an expansion of the nation's Privacy Act.

"The goal of the Bill is to enhance privacy protections, particularly in the online sphere, without unduly impeding innovation within the digital economy," the federal government wrote in the Bill's explanatory paper [PDF].
Under current legislation, the federal government can only make two kinds of binding privacy codes, which are the Australian Privacy Principle code (APP) and a credit reporting code.
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The Bill is seeking to expand the Privacy Act to allow government to create a third code specifically for regulating three classes of organisations: Social media platforms, data brokers, and large online platforms.

The proposed online privacy (OP) code seeks to make it mandatory for social media organisations to verify users' age; obtain parental or guardian consent of a child who is under 16 years old before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information of that child; and prioritise acting in the best interests of children in their approach to handling data.

"The OP code will have stricter requirements for how social media platforms handle children's personal information," the government said.
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According to the exposure draft of the Bill, social media platforms that fall within the code's scope include networks such as Facebook, dating apps such as Bumble, online content services such as OnlyFans, online forum sites such as Reddit, online messaging and videoconference platforms such as WhatsApp and Zoom, and gaming platforms that enable users to chat with each other.
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guest · Oct 26, 2021

Australia drafts Online Privacy Bill to bolster data security
October 26, 2021
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...online-privacy-bill-to-bolster-data-security/

Australia's Attorney-General has submitted the first draft of a new Online Privacy Bill that contains striking reforms over existing privacy laws.

The goal of the new bill is to modernize the legislative context that underpins online data protection and security and make new laws tight enough to enforce data handling practices by Internet entities.
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Four main pillars of reform
The first draft of the Online Privacy Bill includes the following four main objectives:

Development of an OP Code that will determine which entities are subject to the legislation and precisely how they are expected to apply its provisions.

Enforce the Privacy Act, and more specifically ‘Section 13G’, which prohibits online entities from breaching the privacy rights of their users.

Enable law enforcement bodies, the state, and foreign privacy regulators to request information and/or documents from online platforms.

Enforce all of the above on extra-territorial entities that are not incorporated in Australia but carry business in the country.

The OP code will be applicable to organizations that provide social media services, data brokerage, and any online platform that has had over 2,500,000 unique visitors from Australia in the past year.
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All reform proposals need to be be submitted to the Attorney General by January 10, 2022, so there's over a year left for stakeholders to express their opinion on the matter.

From the first draft, though, it is clear that Australia plans on bolstering the protection of users' data online. However, there is plenty of time for online entities to lobby for fewer protections, weakening the proposed privacy changes.
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Australian Online Privacy Bill to make social media age verification mandatory for tech giants

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