On November 1, 2017, in Sydney, Australia, shoppers used mobile phones while walking through the entrance of Myer department store, which is part of Myer Holdings Ltd, Australia’s largest department store.
Steven Safire | Reuters
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday that the government would legislate to ban children under 16 from using social media, a policy the government said was world-leading.
Australia is trialling an age verification system to help block children from accessing social media platforms as part of a ban that could come into force as early as the end of next year.
“Social media is harming our children and I am calling for this to stop,” Albanese said at a news conference.
Albanese cited the risks to children’s physical and mental health caused by excessive use of social media, particularly the risk to girls from harmful depictions of body image and misogynistic content targeting boys.
“If you’re a 14-year-old kid and you’re getting these things as you’re going through life changes and maturing, that can be a very difficult time, and what we do is listen and then take action,” he said.
He added that the legislation would be submitted to parliament this year and take effect 12 months after lawmakers approve it.
The opposition Liberal Party expressed support for the ban.
There will be no exemptions for children who have parental consent or who already have an account.
“The onus is on social media platforms to demonstrate that they are taking reasonable steps to block access,” Albanese said. “The onus does not fall on parents or young people.”
Communications Minister Michel Rolland said affected platforms include meta platform Instagram and Facebook, as well as ByteDance’s TikTok and Elon Musk’s X. alphabetical She added that YouTube could also fall within the scope of the legislation.
TikTok declined to comment, while Meta, Alphabet and X did not respond to requests for comment.
Many countries have vowed to pass legislation to restrict children’s use of social media, although Australia’s policy is one of the strictest.
France last year proposed a ban on social media for under-15s, although users could avoid the ban with parental consent.
For decades, the United States has required technology companies to obtain parental consent when accessing data on children under 13, leading most social media platforms to ban children under that age from accessing their services.
