Social Media Lab Appointed as Lead Academic Partner for Australian Legislation
Social Media Lab Appointed as Lead Academic Partner for Australian Legislation
SML will contribute expertise and guidance for the recently passed Social Media Minimum Age legislation, set to take effect end of 2025.
The Stanford Social Media Lab (SML) at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center has announced its partnership with the Australian Government's eSafety Commission as Lead Academic Partner on the recently passed Social Media Minimum Age legislation. SML, led by Professor Jeff Hancock, will be joined by a distinguished group of Australian and international academics with deep expertise on the subject. As Lead Academic Partner, the SML will contribute critical evidence to evaluate the efficacy of interventions and their impact, prior to the law coming into effect at the end of 2025.
The legislation, passed last year, amends the Online Safety Act 2021 and requires ‘age-restricted social media platforms’ to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 from having accounts on their platforms. Social media platforms operating in Australia have 12 months to develop and roll out systems to enforce these age restrictions.
Said the eSafety Commission head, Julie Inman Grant, "We are deeply committed to conducting a thorough evaluation to understand the impacts of the legislation, both intended and unintended, on children, young people, and their caregivers. Our commitment extends to gathering evidence on the implementation to inform necessary adaptations and improvements."