The Australian government will introduce laws to ban children under 16 from social media, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday, in what he called a world-leading package of measures that could become law by the end of next year.
Australia is trialling an age-verification system to help block children from accessing social media platforms, part of a series of measures that include some of the strictest controls ever imposed by a country.
“Social media is harming our children and I am asking for time to do that,” Albanese told a news conference.
Albanese cited the risks to children’s physical and mental health from excessive use of social media, particularly the risks to girls from harmful body images and misogynistic content aimed at boys.
“If you’re a 14-year-old who is getting these things, at a time when you’re going through life changes and maturing, it can be a really difficult time, and what we do is listen and then act,” he said.
A number of countries have already promised to restrict the use of social networks among children through legislation, although Australia’s policy in this area is one of the strictest.
No jurisdiction has yet attempted to use age verification methods such as biometrics or government identification to enforce social media age limits, two of the methods that have been tried.
Australia’s other world-first proposals are the highest age limit set by any country, with no exemptions for parental consent and no exemptions for pre-existing orders.
The laws will be presented to the Australian Parliament this year, and the laws will enter into force 12 months after they are ratified by the representatives, Albanez said.
The opposition Liberal Party expressed support for the ban.
There will be no exemptions for children who have parental consent or who already have warrants.
The burden will be on the social networking platforms to demonstrate that they take reasonable steps to prevent access. The burden will not be on parents or young people – he declared.
“What we are announcing here will be truly leading in the world,” said the Minister of Communications, Michelle Rovlan.
She stated that the affected platforms will include Meta Platforms’ Instagram and Facebook, as well as Bytdance’s TikTok and Elon Musk’s X. Alphabet’s YouTube would probably also fall under the law’s jurisdiction, she added.
TikTok declined to comment, while Meta, Alphabet and Iks did not respond to requests for comment.
The Digital Industry Group, a representative body that includes Meta, Tik Tok, X and Alphabet’s Google as members, said the measure could encourage young people to explore darker, unregulated parts of the internet while reducing their access to support networks.
“Keeping young people safe online is a top priority, but the proposed ban on teenagers accessing digital platforms is a 20th century answer to 21st century challenges,” said DIGI CEO Sunita Bose.
“Instead of blocking access to bans, we must take a balanced approach to creating age-appropriate spaces, building digital literacy and protecting young people from internet harm,” she added.
France proposed a ban on social media for under-15s last year, although users could avoid the ban with parental consent.
For decades, the United States has required tech companies to seek parental consent to access the data of children under 13, which has led to most social networking platforms banning those under that age from accessing their services, reports Fena.
