Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton presented a rare show of unity during a pre-election debate, backing a bipartisan move to ban children under 16 from using social media platforms starting this December.
Speaking during the televised debate on the Nine Network ahead of the May 3 national election, Albanese said he expected pressure from tech giants to water down the legislation but emphasized his government’s firm stance.
“The social media ban that Australia is implementing with bipartisan support is world-leading,” Albanese said. “We won’t budge on this issue.”
Dutton, echoing Albanese’s resolve, said the Liberal-National coalition is “on a unity ticket” with Labor, accusing multinational tech companies of exploiting children for profit.
“They just see our kids as a commodity, as a profit line online,” Dutton said. “It is not this lawless zoo anymore—we are holding them to account.”
The upcoming ban, targeting platforms like X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram, is part of a broader crackdown that includes laws compelling tech firms to pay for local news content hosted on their platforms.
Albanese also acknowledged that the U.S., under former President Donald Trump’s administration, had previously lobbied on behalf of the social media companies in trade-related discussions.
Despite their agreement on tech regulation, broader voter concerns like cost-of-living and housing affordability continue to dominate the election landscape. Opinion polls suggest a competitive race, though Albanese currently holds a slight lead. Nine’s debate panel declared Dutton the winner of this third leaders’ face-off.
