Social media platforms investigated for ‘potential non-compliance’
Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube are under investigation for potential non-compliance with Australia's under-16s social media ban. The Albanese government has criticized some platforms' systems for failing to adequately prevent underage users from accessing their services.
The eSafety Commission is scheduled to release an update on compliance with the social media ban, which prohibits individuals under 16 from creating accounts on major tech platforms.
According to information obtained by Australia, the report indicates that some large tech companies have been assessed by eSafety as having "unacceptable" systems. Allegations include allowing children to repeatedly attempt age verification tests until they succeed, insufficient measures to prevent banned users from creating new accounts, and inadequate systems for parents and others to report underage users.
eSafety's investigation is focused on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.
Communications Minister Anika Wells accused some platforms of attempting to "undermine" the government's legislation.
If eSafety finds these companies have systemically failed to uphold their legal obligations, I expect the commissioner to throw the book at them.
Fines for breaches under the social media minimum age laws can reach up to $49.5 million.
All of the platforms covered by our social media minimum age requirement said they would respect the law. If these companies want to do business in Australia, they must obey Australian laws.
‘We ask for reliability in return’: Wong
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong continues to engage with counterparts in South Korea, Singapore, and Malaysia—key countries involved in Australia's fuel imports and gas exports.
While the government denies the situation is tit-for-tat, it has communicated internationally that Australia is a reliable partner in gas and expects reciprocal reliability concerning fuel.
Wong told ABC AM this morning that she welcomed the fuel agreement signed between Australia and Singapore:
Early on in this conflict, I reached out to counterparts in the region who are our primary suppliers of liquid fuels … I reached out to Korea, to Singapore, to Malaysia, but we’ll continue to do that.
We believe we’re reliable, and we ask for reliability in return.
Wong rules out lifting sanctions on Russian oil
The government has dismissed the possibility of lifting sanctions on Russian oil to address potential fuel shortages amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.
As reported previously, South Korea and China are considering redirecting jet fuel exports for domestic use, which could impact Australia's supply.
Penny Wong stated on this morning:
We don’t want to be providing Mr Putin with money to run his war machine, which is enabling … [a] continued attack on Ukraine, and on Ukrainian citizens.
Liberal Senator Alex Antic suggested Australia could ease some restrictions on Russia due to domestic shortages. Wong condemned this, stating it was "quite a disgrace, given Australia’s national interest, that we have members of the [parliament] who are prepared to back in President Putin in this immoral war."
Crisafulli criticises PM’s four-stage fuel security plan
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli expressed opposition to "blanket mandates" for working from home and criticized Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s four-stage fuel security plan announced on Monday.
Albanese has not excluded the possibility of encouraging or mandating remote work to reduce fuel demand as part of the plan.
Crisafulli, who has advocated for a national dashboard providing information on fuel shortages, criticized the plan's lack of clarity regarding when each stage would be implemented or the current fuel reserves, stating it "doesn’t fill people with confidence."
At a press conference on Monday evening, he said:
There is no world where I support work-from-home mandates; that sends entirely the wrong message.
The Queensland premier also emphasized the need for a sustained focus on increasing domestic oil production, exploration, and storage to reduce Australia's dependence on other nations.
When asked about the goal of Australia becoming a net exporter, he responded:
Well, considering we [are] well under 50% at the moment, that’s a lofty ambition, but let’s just say it’d be good to control our own destiny it wasn’t that long ago that we were ... almost double where we were now – it wasn’t that long ago.
Government ‘deeply concerned’ about military escalation in Lebanon
On the ABC AM program, Penny Wong reaffirmed that Australia will not participate in the war with ground forces, maintaining a defensive posture since the conflict began. Australian support to the region, including the deployment of E7-A Wedgetail aircraft, remains defensive.
Our posture is defensive, not offensive. We’ve made that very clear and we provided defensive capability when Iran chose to attack countries that ... were not party to taking strikes on Iran.
Wong also expressed deep concern about the escalation of conflict in Lebanon.
Last week, she spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, emphasizing that Australia does not support the occupation of southern Lebanon by Israel.
This morning she reiterated her stance:
We remain deeply concerned about escalation in Lebanon, the displacement of so many civilians.
Wong calls for de-escalation in Iran
Penny Wong voiced concerns regarding the possibility that regime change in Iran is an ongoing objective of the conflict.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast following Prime Minister Albanese’s comments questioning the US’s objectives in the conflict, Wong noted that many military goals have already been achieved.
There’s obviously been a lot of military objectives the president has achieved in terms of Iranian air force, Iranian navy, Iran’s military industrial base and its capacity to launch missiles. We believe that it would be a good thing for the global economy and for Australians and certainly for the world, if we could see de-escalation and these talks lead to a cessation of the conflict.
We have concerns if the objective is regime change, because we have said all along, this is ultimately a matter for the people of Iran.
Wong also noted the war’s impact on global energy markets, including in the United States.
More than 10,000 Australians return from Middle East
Since the outbreak of the war in Iran, over 10,000 Australians have returned from the Middle East.
The government reports that 10,372 Australians have arrived home on 103 direct commercial flights, with three additional flights scheduled to arrive today—one to Melbourne and two to Sydney.
In a statement this morning, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong urged Australians to leave the region promptly due to ongoing volatility.
Australians should not delay their departure from the region given the continued uncertainty.
Our message is simple: if you can secure a flight out of the Middle East and it’s safe to travel to the airport, leave now while commercial options are available.
Albanese backs US alliance, but wants clarity on Iran from Trump
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that the US war in Iran has not damaged Australia’s alliance with the United States, despite his desire for the conflict to end or de-escalate.
Albanese also expressed a wish for former President Donald Trump to provide "a timeframe or a clearer objective" for the conflict, reflecting the economic impact it has caused.
Speaking to the ABC on Monday night, Albanese said while Trump’s objectives were commendable, he sought clarity on how the conflict might conclude and whether those objectives could be achieved through negotiation rather than escalation.
He affirmed ongoing positive communication with the US and dismissed concerns that the conflict could jeopardize the alliance.
Albanese acknowledged that the third of Trump’s objectives—regime change—had not necessarily been realized.
What I’d like to see is a timeframe or a clearer objective. The president said at the beginning of this conflict that it was about three things.
It was about nuclear weapons and making sure that Iran can’t get a nuclear weapon. Secondly, we wanted to damage Iran’s capabilities to attack its neighbours or to assist its proxies in Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis and others … but the third was regime change.
I want to see a recognition of the economic damage that this conflict is continuing to result in. And I want to see any objective of what is to be achieved by further conflict rather than negotiation. And I want to see an end or a de-escalation to the conflict there.
Overview
Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you for another busy sitting day.
Meta, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube are being investigated for potential non-compliance under the social media ban, with the eSafety Commissioner releasing a compliance update today.
The government reports that more than 10,000 Australians have now returned from the Middle East, while calls for clarity over the conflict continue. Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong will be engaging with the media this morning.
The Prime Minister is also facing pressure from some of his favored musicians, who have penned an open letter urging the government to adopt a new gas export tax.
It promises to be another busy day, so let’s get started!
