Australia has become the first country in the world to ban social media for children under the age of 16. The ban was approved by the Australian parliament’s lower house on Wednesday, November 27th, followed by the senate one day later.
The bill received cross-party backing, with 34 senators endorsing it, and 19 voting against. According to a recent survey, 77% of Australians also support the ban.
Sky News contributor Sam Crosby said the social media age limit is a “world first legislation,” something that the parents of Australia are “very much on board” with. A parliamentary inquiry in 2024 heard evidence from parents of children who had self-harmed due to social media bullying.
Children will be banned from platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X, but WhatsApp and YouTube, which teenagers may need to use for school work, may be exempted from the ban.
Tech giants that do not abide by the law, and do not prevent youngsters from logging in, could face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (€30 million).
How the ban will be enforced, is still a big question, and a trial run will start in January of next year, with the ban to take effect in a year’s time.
There were concerns about whether social media giants would have to collect personal data from its users to prove they are over the age of 16, but a last-minute change to the bill specifies that platforms must offer an alternative to making users upload identification documents.
Centre-left Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has enthusiastically championed the new rules. He described social media as “a platform for peer pressure, a driver of anxiety, a vehicle for scammers and, worst of all, a tool for online predators.” Centre-right opposition leader Peter Dutton has also supported the ban, saying “families are deeply disturbed by what children were seeing online.”
However, Green party senator Sarah Hanson-Young criticised the bill, saying “this is boomers trying to tell young people how the internet should work to make themselves feel better.” Other commentators have condemned the new law for being censorious.
A spokesperson for Meta, which owns Facebook, said it was concerned by the process, which “rushed the legislation through while failing to properly consider the evidence, what industry already does to ensure age-appropriate experiences, and the voices of young people.”
An outright ban of social media use for specific age groups has not been enforced anywhere in the world. According to AFP, France, Norway, Spain, and South Korea have attempted to implement bans or partial bans, with varying degrees of success.
In China, users under 14 can spend no more than 40 minutes each day on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and the online gaming time of minors is also limited.
