Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled plans on Thursday to prohibit children under 16 from using social media platforms, citing the detrimental effects of sites like Facebook and TikTok on young users.
Under the proposed legislation, tech giants would be mandated to enforce an age limit, and face significant penalties for failing to prevent access by minors.
“This one is for the mums and dads. Social media is doing real harm to kids, and I’m calling time on it,” Albanese stated, emphasizing the government’s commitment to protecting children from harmful online influences.
Australia, leading the charge in regulating social media, is poised to implement one of the most stringent age restrictions globally. The proposal is scheduled for discussion with state and territory leaders this week and is expected to be introduced to parliament in late November.
Should the bill be enacted, tech platforms will be given a year to establish and implement measures to ensure compliance.
Albanese noted, “The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access,” Albanese said, explaining what he dubbed a “world-leading” reform.
The onus won’t be on parents or young people.”
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said it would “respect any age limitations the government wants to introduce”.
But Antigone Davis, Meta’s head of safety, said Australia should think carefully about how these restrictions were implemented.
She said poorly drafted laws “risk making ourselves feel better, like we have taken action, but teens and parents will not find themselves in a better place”.
Snapchat highlighted a warning from the industry group DIGI, which cautioned that a ban could prevent teenagers from accessing “mental health support.”
“Swimming has risks, but we don’t ban young people from the beach, we teach them to swim between the flags,” a DIGI spokeswoman said.
TikTok said it had nothing to add at this stage.
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