Julie Inman Grant

PROTECTING KIDS FROM SOCIAL MEDIA'S HARMS

- BELINDA LUSCOMBE

AUSTRALIA'S SO-CALLED SOCIAL MEDIA BAN WENT INTO effect on Dec. 10. It forbade 10 tech giants, including Google's YouTube, Meta's Facebook and Instagram, and SnapInc's SnapChat, from opening or maintaining accounts for any Australian under the age of 16. And it put the responsibility for figuring out a user's age on the platforms, so that no identification documents were necessary.

Many hands went into crafting Australia's regulations, but most of the finer detailing and heavy lifting was done by a Seattle-born former tech executive, Julie Inman Grant. As Australia's eSafety Commissioner, she formulated the set of guidelines for what social media companies can and cannot do in her adopted homeland, where more than 97% of the population are online. She also advised the government, liaised with tech companies, and spearheaded its promotion to the public.