Australia’s push to tighten its world-first social media age laws has run into resistance from X, which warns the plan goes too far. Amendments introduced in June would force 10 major platforms including X to take reasonable steps to stop under-16s from opening or holding accounts after widespread workarounds.
The proposal responds to concerns that children easily bypass existing safeguards. X now argues the cure may be more damaging than the original problem.
Under the revised framework, the eSafety Commissioner gains stronger investigative powers. The watchdog could compel platforms and third-party providers including age-assurance companies to hand over emails, board minutes and other internal documents.
Those documents would help test whether platforms are genuinely complying with the under-16 account ban. The changes are pitched as necessary to enforce rules that until now have been too easy to ignore.
X Corp’s submission to the Senate inquiry says the package lacks proper regard for procedural fairness, privacy and the knock-on effects across Australia’s wider digital economy. The company objects to the breadth of the new powers, warning that demands for internal documents could stretch beyond large firms.
It claims even ordinary Australians might be forced to surrender records if they are seen as relevant to compliance with the ban. That possibility is presented as a step that could chill participation in online services.
X frames the debate as a clash between safety ambitions and international legal norms around privacy and fair process. Lawmakers now face pressure to show that tougher child protections do not morph into open-ended surveillance tools.
The Senate inquiry’s response to these concerns looks likely to shape how far Australia can go in policing underage social media use.
