The Australian government says it will introduce “world-leading” legislation to ban children under 16 from using social media.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the proposed laws, which will be introduced in parliament next week, are aimed at reducing the “harm” that social media is causing to Australian children.
“This law is for moms and dads… They, like me, are very concerned about the safety of our children online. I want Australian families to know that the government has your back,” he said.
While many of the details are still being discussed, the government has said that the ban will not apply to young people who already use social media.
There will be no exceptions to the age limit for children who have parental consent. The government says the onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate that they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access.
Albanese said there will be no penalties for users and that Australia’s online regulator, the Electronic Security Commissioner, will monitor compliance with the laws.
The legislation will come into force 12 months after its adoption and will be subject to review after it is implemented.
While most experts agree that social media platforms can be harmful to adolescents’ mental health, many are divided on the effectiveness of trying to ban them all.
Some experts argue that bans only delay young people’s exposure to apps such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, rather than teaching them how to navigate complex online spaces.
Previous attempts to restrict access, including by the European Union, have largely failed or faced backlash from tech companies. And questions remain about how the implementation will work, given that there are tools that can circumvent age verification requirements.
One of Australia’s largest child rights groups has criticized the proposed ban as “too blunt a tool.”
In an open letter sent to the government in October, signed by more than 100 academics and 20 civil society organizations, the Australian Working Group for the Rights of the Child urged Albanese to consider introducing “safety standards” on social media platforms instead.
The group also pointed to UN recommendations that “national policies” designed to regulate online space “should aim to enable children to benefit from their engagement with the digital environment and ensure their safe access to it.”
But other grassroots campaigners lobbied the Australian government to pass these laws, arguing that the ban is necessary to protect children from harmful content, disinformation, bullying, and other types of social pressure.
The 36 Months Initiative’s petition, which has gathered more than 125,000 signatures, argues that children “are not ready to safely navigate social media” until at least 16 years of age, and that “excessive use of social media is currently reprogramming young brains at a critical time in psychological development, causing an epidemic of mental illness.”
Asked whether more efforts should be made to educate children on how to navigate the benefits and risks of being online, Albanese said that such an approach would not be sufficient because it “assumes an equal balance of power.”
“I don’t know about you, but I have things in my system that I don’t want to see. Let alone a vulnerable 14-year-old,” he told reporters on Thursday.
“These tech companies are incredibly powerful. These apps have algorithms that encourage people to behave in certain ways.”
