X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, has criticised Australia’s proposed expansion of its online safety laws, arguing that the measures would grant excessive powers to the country’s internet regulator and conflict with international legal principles.
Australia’s law banning social media accounts for children under the age of 16, which came into effect last December, has faced opposition from several U.S.-based technology companies.
In a submission to an Australian Senate committee published on Tuesday, X objected to proposed amendments that would expand the eSafety Commissioner’s authority to demand documents and information and increase the maximum penalty for non-compliance to A$99 million.
The company said the proposals failed to give sufficient consideration to procedural fairness, privacy, the impact on online services and Australia’s digital economy.
X also argued that the changes could compel individuals outside Australia to provide information solely because they were affiliated with a company subject to Australian law, describing the proposal as inconsistent with international legal principles and potentially damaging to relations between legal jurisdictions.
The dispute has also drawn attention in the United States. A U.S. congressional committee has asked Australia’s eSafety Commissioner to testify, accusing the regulator of threatening free speech protections.
Musk has previously criticised Australia’s under-16 social media ban, describing it as “a backdoor way to control access to the internet by all Australians.”
Data released by the eSafety Commissioner and other studies indicate that most Australians under the age of 16 continue to use social media despite the ban.
The eSafety Commissioner has said the regulator is preparing possible legal action against five social media platforms but that enforcement efforts have been constrained by its current investigative powers.