Australia plans social media ban for under-16s

The government of Australia claims it will enact "world-leading" legislation that would prohibit minors under the age of sixteen from using social media.

According to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the proposed legislation, which is scheduled to be presented to parliament next week, aims to lessen the "harm" that social media is causing to Australian youngsters.

"This one's for the parents... They share my extreme concern for our children's online safety. He stated, "I want Australian families to know that the government is on your side."

The administration stated that the ban would apply to youth who are currently using social media, even though many specifics are still up for debate.

Children who have parental approval will not be exempt from the age restriction. According to the government, social media companies would have to demonstrate that they are taking appropriate measures to block access.

Albanese stated that users would not face any penalties and that the eSafety Commissioner, Australia's internet regulator, would be responsible for enforcing the regulations.

Although the majority of specialists concur that social media platforms might negatively impact adolescents' mental health, there is disagreement among them regarding the effectiveness of attempts to completely ban them.

Some experts contend that rather than educating young people on how to navigate complicated online settings, prohibitions only postpone their introduction to apps like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Access restriction efforts in the past, including those by the European Union, have mostly failed or drawn criticism from digital companies. Furthermore, there are still concerns about how implementation would go because there are methods that can get around the age-verification criteria.

The planned prohibition has been denounced as "too blunt an instrument" by one of Australia's biggest child rights advocacy organizations. 

In October, the Australian Child Rights Taskforce, which was supported by 20 civil society organizations and more than 100 academics, addressed an open letter to the government urging Albanese to consider enforcing "safety standards" on social media.

The UN has advised that "national policies" that govern online areas "should be aimed at providing children with the opportunity to benefit from engaging with the digital environment and ensuring their safe access to it," the group also claimed. 

However, some grassroots activists have pushed the Australian government to enact the regulations, arguing that they are necessary to shield kids from dangerous content, false information, bullying, and other social pressures.

Children are "not yet ready to navigate online social networks safely" until they are at least 16 years old, according to a 36-month initiative petition with over 125,000 signatures. Additionally, the petition claims that "excessive social media use is rewiring young brains within a critical window of psychological development, causing an epidemic of mental illness."

Albanese stated that a way that "assumes an equal power relationship" would be inadequate when asked if there should be more extensive attempts to teach kids how to balance the advantages and disadvantages of using the internet. 

"Things that I don't want to see keep coming up on my system; I'm not sure about you. Let alone a 14-year-old who is so vulnerable," he said to reporters Thursday. 

"These tech firms have huge influence. These apps' algorithms encourage users to act in particular ways.