Australia's government plans to introduce legislation to ban children under the age of 16 from using social media. The move would be 'like leading the world'. The proposal could become law by the end of next year. This information is known in the report of news agency Reuters.
“Social media is harming our children and I will stop it,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a press conference.
Albanese said that excessive use of social media poses physical and mental health risks to children. Harmful body images are created especially for girls and misogynistic content is exposed for boys.
Some countries have already committed to legislating bans on children's use of social media. But Australia's policy is the strictest.
So far no jurisdiction has attempted to implement such an age verification system. For example: Using biometrics or government IDs to access social media. Both of these methods are currently being tested.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the legislation would be proposed to the Australian parliament this year and would come into effect 12 months after lawmakers approve it. The opposition Liberal Party has also expressed its support for the ban.
Children who have received parental consent for social media use or who have already created accounts will also be subject to this law. Albanis said social media platforms will be held accountable. Companies must prove that they are taking appropriate steps to prevent children of this age from accessing the platform. However, this responsibility will not fall on the parents and the youth.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said: 'What we are announcing and legislating will be truly world-leading.'
Rowland said the Mater platform Instagram, Facebook, ByteDance's TikTok, Elon Musk's X and Google's YouTube would fall under the law.
On the other hand, the Digital Industry Group, whose members include Meta, TikTok, X and Alphabet's Google, says the move could encourage young people to explore the dark, uncharted parts of the internet.
Sunita Bose, Managing Director of this organisation, said, 'Keeping young people safe online is a top priority. But restricting access to digital platforms by teenagers is a 20th century solution to 21st century challenges.
Last year, France proposed a ban on social media use for children under 15. However, users have been able to bypass that ban with parental consent.
In the United States, technology companies have forced children under the age of 13 to obtain parental consent for social media use. As a result, most social media platforms prevent users under the age of 13 from using their services.
