Snap Inc, Twitter push back against proposed online anti-anonymity laws

Twitter and Snap Inc. have put forward submissions to the Government Inquiry into Social Media and Online Safety outlining the potential damages of enforcing online users to verify age and personal details in order to access websites.

American listed platform, Snap – which has more than five million users in Australia – argues in its submission that the new proposed measures, if approved, would “essentially mandate, tech companies to collect and store people’s IDs as a requirement for using online platforms”.

Snap’s recommendation to the inquiry states that “the Government should abandon proposals that seek to end the freedom to anonymity online, and instead focus on requiring platforms to take systemic measures which will help ensure the safety and security of Australians online: the implementation of age assurance, parental controls, and systems and processes to help keep users safe.”