Key Points
- Australia plans to introduce a law this year banning children from using social media, focusing on the age group between 14 and 16.
- As part of the initiative, the government will begin an age verification trial in the coming months.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese highlighted the physical and mental health risks associated with social media, including cyberbullying and exposure to harmful content.
- Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has urged internet firms to create codes to prevent children’s exposure to inappropriate material.
Australia announced plans on Tuesday to introduce legislation later this year banning children from using social media platforms. The government cited concerns over the potential risks to their physical and mental health. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that his center-left government would initiate an age verification trial in the coming months as part of this effort.
“I want to see kids off their devices and onto the footy fields, swimming pools, and tennis courts. We want them to have real experiences with real people because we know that social media is causing social harm,” Albanese said, emphasizing the need for children to engage more in physical activities and face-to-face interactions.
While Albanese did not specify exact age limits for the ban, he indicated that the government is considering a range between 14 and 16 years old. He expressed particular concern about the impacts of cyberbullying on children’s mental health and their exposure to harmful content on social media. The Prime Minister highlighted the significant challenges posed by online platforms, which often allow minors to access inappropriate material easily.
This legislative push follows a July directive from Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, which called on internet companies to develop an enforceable code to protect children from exposure to pornography and other harmful content. The companies were warned that failure to comply could result in a government-imposed code.
Globally, several countries have been working to restrict social media use by minors. Still, these efforts have faced numerous obstacles, including legal challenges and technological tools like virtual private networks (VPNs) that can obscure users’ locations. Albanese acknowledged the complexity of the issue, stating, “This is a global issue that governments around the globe are trying to deal with … we know that it’s not simple and it’s not easy, otherwise governments would have responded before.”
The Australian government’s proposed measures reflect a growing international concern over social media’s influence on young people and the need for stricter regulation to safeguard their well-being.
