eSafety places blind faith in exempt platforms to dob themselves in if apps flooded after under-16s ban

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has called for social media platforms not included in the impending under-16s ban to dob themselves in if they receive an influx of users.

Julie Inman Grant said the Commission would examine “migratory patterns” around the implementation of the ban on December 10.

“We’re talking to a range of other platforms, and we’re asking them to look for migratory patterns,” she told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.

“So, if there is a huge spike in BlueSky for instance, before or after, we expect them to come and talk to us about that.”

It comes after Communications Minister Anika Wells announced forum-style platform Reddit and streaming app Kick would also have to comply with the world-first restrictions next month.

They join well-known apps, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, and X.

Ms Inman Grant said the Commission would also review app download data from iTunes Store or Google Play to assess which platforms young people gravitate towards.

Shadow Communications Minister Melissa McIntosh expressed scepticism that platforms would voluntarily flag that they receive a spike in users post-ban.

“A lot of companies I’ve spoken to also don’t want kids exposed to harmful content,” she said.

“I think they’ll be quite highly sensitive… and will want to do the right thing. But again, let’s see.

“We’re at crunchtime. What I’m seeing now is that there’s a high risk that this won’t work.

“There are still too many questions.”

While nine platforms have been formally named as included, Ms Inman Grant said her hitlist was “dynamic” and will “always change” as platforms evolve.

Ms Inman Grant said the Commission would continue to examine if apps altered their service offering and added social-media-like functions.

“This is a dynamic list… and it will always change,” she said.

“Companies have been told to continue self-assessing.

“When we assessed Roblox, online gaming was the sole and significant purpose. Chat functionality exists, but without gaming, kids would probably not use it.

“If a platform starts becoming more like social media, we will seek to capture them.”