Online safety laws stall, while regulators target Apple and TikTok—what’s next for tech power?

Australia’s online safety regime is facing a timing gap that is now becoming politically salient. An ABC report says a mandated digital duty of care for social media platforms is still more than 18 months away, even though an online safety law review had recommended implementation in 2024. Separately, US-focused commentary highlights how parents struggle to enforce basic device-safety norms, underscoring the enforcement challenge lawmakers are trying to solve. In parallel, the US House passed the KIDS Act, a major online safety bill aimed at protecting minors, setting up a new legislative pathway even as critics argue it may miss key safeguards. The strategic context is that governments are shifting from voluntary platform moderation toward legally enforceable obligations, which changes bargaining power between regulators and Big Tech. Australia’s delay suggests implementation capacity, industry lobbying, and legislative sequencing are slowing the move to duty-of-care standards, potentially leaving minors exposed while compliance frameworks are drafted. In the US, passage of the KIDS Act signals political momentum to regulate algorithmic and content risks, but the debate over what is “missing” indicates that the final bill could still be reshaped in negotiations. Meanwhile, Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) warning to Apple—linked by lawyers to the removal of VK apps from the App Store—shows how competition enforcement and platform control can converge, turning app-store decisions into regulatory flashpoints. Market and economic implications are likely to concentrate in compliance, app-store economics, and advertising-adjacent risk. If duty-of-care rules tighten in Australia and the KIDS Act advances in the US, platforms may face higher costs for safety engineering, age assurance, and moderation tooling, which can pressure margins and shift budgets toward governance technology. In Russia, app removals tied to FAS scrutiny can disrupt local digital ecosystems and alter revenue flows for app developers and platform distribution, increasing regulatory and legal risk premia for Apple’s services. For TikTok, a settlement with an adolescent plaintiff ahead of trial reduces near-term litigation tail risk, but it also reinforces that social-media business models remain exposed to minors-focused legal claims. What to watch next is whether the US KIDS Act moves from House passage into Senate negotiations and how narrowly or broadly it defines platform duties. In Australia, the key trigger is the government’s timetable for implementing the duty of care after the 18-month delay, including whether it sets interim obligations or enforcement milestones. For Russia, monitor whether FAS expands actions beyond Apple and whether further app-store removals follow, as that would indicate a broader regulatory strategy rather than a one-off dispute. For TikTok and other platforms, watch for whether settlements become a pattern that accelerates additional claims, and track any changes in age-verification requirements or default settings that could affect user engagement and ad targeting.

Geopolitical Implications

• 01

  Regulation is becoming a tool of strategic leverage over platform ecosystems, shifting power from platforms to states through legally enforceable safety duties.

• 02

  Divergent timelines (Australia delay vs. US legislative momentum) create uneven compliance burdens and could fragment user experience and data governance standards across markets.

• 03

  Russia’s linkage of antimonopoly enforcement to app-store removals illustrates how digital sovereignty and market control can be pursued through competition law.

• 04

  Litigation and settlements in minors’ safety can become a transnational template, raising the baseline compliance expectations for global platforms.

Key Signals

• —Senate action on the KIDS Act and any amendments defining platform obligations, enforcement mechanisms, and age assurance requirements.
• —Australia’s publication of implementation milestones for the digital duty of care and whether interim standards are introduced before full rollout.
• —Any follow-on FAS actions targeting other app-store operators or additional app removals tied to VK or similar services.
• —New minors-focused lawsuits or regulatory inquiries that reference TikTok’s settlement and seek similar remedies.