Australia Proposes Social Media Ban for Children Under 16

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Tuesday that the government will introduce legislation to enforce a minimum age limit for social media use. The proposed age limit could be set as high as 16 years.  The bold move is to protect the mental health and well-being of young Australians.

“We’ve committed to introducing legislation before the end of this year for age verification to make sure that we get young people away from this social harm,” Albanese stated. “This is a scourge. We know that there are mental health consequences for what many of the young people have had to deal with. The bullying that can occur online, the access to material which causes social harm, and parents are wanting a response.”

Trial age verification technology

The government plans to trial age verification technology to ensure compliance with the new regulations. This initiative comes in response to increasing concerns from parents and educators about the negative impact of social media on children’s mental health.

Potential drawbacks

Lisa Given, an information technology expert at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, expressed concerns about the potential drawbacks of the proposed legislation. “This is actually a very problematic move,” Given said. “This is a very blunt instrument that’s going to potentially exclude children from some very, very helpful supports on social media.”

The opposition party has also shown support for the initiative, promising a social media ban for children under 16 if they win the upcoming elections. South Australia has already proposed a law that would fine social media companies that fail to exclude children under the age of 14 from their platforms.

Prime Minister Albanese emphasized the importance of real-life interactions for children, saying, “We want to get kids off their devices and onto the footy fields.”