Australia has a majority party presented A bill in parliament to ban children under 16 from using social media. The law, which falls on social platforms rather than children or parents, can fine companies up to AUD$49.5 million ($32.2 million).
The Labor bill would also apply to (among others) Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram and X. This will require the blocking and destruction of any minor user data collected from the platforms. However, the legislation includes exemptions for health and education services Headspace, Google Classroom and YouTube.
“For many young Australians, social media can be harmful. “Almost two-thirds of Australians aged 14-17 have viewed extremely harmful content online, including drug addiction, suicide or self-harm, and violence,” Australian Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said. he said Parliament Thursday. “A quarter have been exposed to content promoting unsafe eating habits.”
Reuters notes He said the law would be one of the most aggressive laws globally in dealing with children’s use of social media. This will not include parental consent or exclusions for pre-existing accounts. In fact, social platforms will have to monitor their platforms so that no child under the age of 16 can use their services.
The bill is supported by the majority (center-left) Labor Party and the opposition (right) Liberal Party. “This is a remarkable reform,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. “We know some kids will find solutions, but we’re sending a message to social media companies to clean up their act.”
(left) The Australian Greens have criticized the law, saying it ignored expert evidence to “ram” the law through Parliament without due diligence. Senator Sarah Hanson-Young “Recent Parliamentary Inquiry into Social Media heard repeatedly that age restrictions will not make social media safe for anyone” he said in the statement. “[The bill] implementation is complex and will have unintended consequences for young people.”
Last year, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy the alarm sounded about the risks of minors using social media. “Children and adolescents who spend more than 3 hours a day on social media double their risk of mental health problems, including symptoms of depression and anxiety,” the Office of the Surgeon General’s 2023 advisory said.
The US requires tech companies to obtain parental consent to access the data of children under 13, but there is no age limit. Reuters notes that France imposed a social media ban on children under 15 last year, but it still allows children to use the services with parental consent.
