Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Thursday that the government will introduce legislation to ban social media for children under 16, a move touted as world-leading.
“Social media is doing harm to our kids, and I’m calling time on it,” Albanese said during a news conference.
The proposed law is expected to be presented in parliament this year, with implementation planned for 12 months after its ratification. Importantly, the legislation will not allow exemptions for users who have parental consent.
“The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access,” Albanese clarified, emphasizing that responsibility will not fall on parents or children.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland added that major platforms affected would include Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, ByteDance’s TikTok, and Elon Musk’s X, with Alphabet’s YouTube likely also included. Representatives from these companies were not immediately available for comment.
While several countries are considering similar measures to limit children’s social media usage, Australia’s approach is among the strictest.
Last year, France proposed a ban on social media for those under 15, but allowed users to bypass the restriction with parental consent. In the U.S., existing regulations require tech companies to obtain parental consent for accessing data of children under 13, leading most platforms to restrict access for this age group.
Credit: CNN
