For those not familiar with Australian parliamentary processes, the original bill was introduced on the 21st of November 2024 and today the 27th of November 2024 was endorsed by the House of Representatives with no amendments agreed to. The final time the Senate is in session is tomorrow the 28th of November 2024, then returning in February 2025 if the Senate cannot agree on the bill tomorrow.

For consideration tomorrow by the senate are 13 proposed amendments to this bill. One amendment comes from the government proposing the bill (34% of Senate vote) and other amendments mostly come from a political coalition with ~40-45% of the vote who passed the bill today through the House of Representatives, and minor parties and independents with ~15-20% of the vote and whom opposed the bill today from being ready for Senate consideration.

The government wanting to pass the bill has only 34% of the vote in the Senate so they will likely have to agree with some amendments tomorrow if they want to get the bill enacted.

The following amendments with significant changes and significant Senate support are due for consideration:

(A) Social media services can not "collect" government-issued identity documents and can not use an "accredited service" (Digital ID system that the Australian government is trying to roll out some time after 2026).[1] The minister can also regulate at any time additional information and verification methods that social media services are not allowed to collect. (amendment of the government proposing this bill with >34% of Senate support)

(B) Parents can approve for their children to have social media accounts.[2] (>~40-45% of Senate support)

(C) Social media services narrowed in definition such that it attempts (still very poorly) to describe Facebook feeds without also banning 15 year olds from Facebook Messenger, comments sections of a news website, chat in online games, etc.[3] It also appears to allow the government to demand ISPs, DNS providers, VPN providers, application store operators, etc hand over unspecified types of information if it may reveal compliance status of a social media service. (>~40-45% of Senate support)

(D) Not mandate social media media services use an Australian government online identity system.[4] But a social media service is not prohibited from volunteering to use an Australian government online identity system. And they probably will use it in preference to other age verification schemes because it presents the least risk to them (risk transfers to government providing the identity system). Social media services are still allowed to ask users to email or upload their identity documents or go through any other identity verification hoops the social media service may invent. (>~40-45% of Senate support)

(E) Add risk assessment and transparency reporting obligations for "large" social media services.[5] Appears to allow a minister (not parliament) to maintain a standard for the risk assessment which has mandatory mitigation methods specified within that social media services must implement. The risk assessments of social media services are required to be published to the public. (>15-20% of Senate support)

[1] https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/legislation/am...

[2] https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/legislation/am...

[3] https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/legislation/am...

[4] https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/legislation/am...

[5] https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/legislation/am...