AUSTRALIA MOVES TO BAN MINORS UNDER 16 FROM SOCIAL MEDIA

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The prime minister of Australia pledged on Thursday to prohibit children under the age of sixteen from using social media, claiming that the widespread influence of sites like Facebook and TikTok was “doing real harm to our kids.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that if regulators discover that minor users are slipping through the cracks, the internet companies would be held accountable for enforcing the age limit and will be subject to heavy fines.

The proposed age limit would be one of the most stringent laws targeting children in the world, and Australia is leading the way in countries’ efforts to clean up social media.

“This one is for the mums and dads. Social media is doing real harm to kids and I’m calling time on it,” Albanese told reporters outside parliament.

Before being tabled to parliament in late November, the new laws would be presented to state and territory leaders this week.

Following passage, the tech platforms would have a year to determine how to carry out and enforce the prohibition.

“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 pointed to a statement from industry body DIGI, which warned that a ban could stop 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.