Asia-Pacific takes the lead in fight to regulate Big Tech for children

Some of the toughest new laws attempting to rein in TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat are not coming from Washington or Brussels. They are emerging from capitals such as Canberra, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.

Governments across the Asia-Pacific region are leading the global charge to protect children from online harms, presenting an unprecedented challenge to the likes of ByteDance, Meta Platforms and Snap in markets with some of their largest and most youthful user bases.

Australia late last year passed a law requiring social media platforms to keep children under the age of 16 off their services. New Zealand’s governing party last week put forward a bill that mirrors Australia’s move.

Indonesia is formulating restrictions for those under 18 accessing social media. Malaysia is requiring social media firms to obtain licences to operate in the country, while Singapore’s policymakers have signalled they are open to minimum-age laws.

Meanwhile, Vietnam is requiring foreign social platforms to verify their users’ accounts and provide authorities with their identities on demand, and Pakistan wants such firms to register with a new agency.

“I’ve met with parents who have lost and buried their child. It’s devastating,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in November. “We can’t as a government hear those messages from parents and say it’s too hard. We have a responsibility to act.”