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CNN: “Well, a world first in Australia…”
CBC: “Australia has now done something no other country has been able to do.”
DW: “…ban under-16s from using social media”
It’s Australian news that makes global headlines.
Under the legislation, platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit and X will impose age limits on users under 16 – but exemptions will apply to health and education services including YouTube , Messenger Kids, WhatsApp, Kids Helpline and Google Classroom.
Companies that violate the ban could be fined up to $50 million.
The ban is due to come into force in 12 months – and young people’s reactions to it have been mixed.
“For kids online, it’ll be like, oh, I don’t like the government because they’re trying to limit the amount of time I try to talk to my friends, when they grow up they’ll know that’s for the better.”
“I feel like I would always use it, just in secret to get myself into something. Parent: You’re going to miss it, right? Child: Yeah.”
“I believe this will only create a generation of young people who will be more technologically literate bypassing the use of false ages and false identifications and will not achieve the desired effects.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese believes the government’s ban on social media is the right move, saying it will be up to platforms to take “reasonable steps” to prevent underage users from accessing services.
“World-leading action to ensure social media companies live up to their social responsibility. Social media is harming our children. And today, as a direct result of our legislation passed by Parliament…parents can have a different discussion with their young people.
But questions remain about how exactly the ban will be enforced.
Identity documents and facial recognition have been flagged as possibilities for age verification, even for adults.
Jeannie Patterson, from the University of Melbourne’s law school, says many aspects of the ban have left her perplexed.
“The real question for me is how effective will the mechanisms in place be, what will their cost be? And is this really going to solve the problem of this sort of toxic element of the digital world?”
Social media companies have criticized the legislation.
Meta says that while she respects the laws decided by the Australian Parliament, she maintains that there is a lack of evidence regarding the link between mental health and social media.
TikTok says the government will need to work closely with the industry to resolve problems it says were created by what it describes as a rushed process.
Meanwhile, the ban has also sparked debate over whether similar measures could work abroad.
Britain’s technology secretary signaled a similar move last week, but will wait for further research.
Yet students across the US and UK say it starts conversations.
“I don’t think it would be a good thing because it’s already part of our daily lives. It would be difficult to get people out of it.”
“I know it’s a little controversial, but I actually think it’s really good that they did that.”
