Australia plans to ban social media for children under 16

MELBOURNE, Australia – The Australian government announced Thursday what it described as world-leading legislation that would establish an age limit of 16 for children to start using social media and hold platforms accountable for ensuring compliance.

“Social media is harming our children and I'm calling time on it,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

The bill will be tabled in Parliament during the last two weeks of the session beginning November 18. The age limit will come into effect 12 months after the law is passed, Albanese told reporters.

Platforms X, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook will have to figure out how to exclude Australian children under 16 that year.

“I've spoken to thousands of parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. They, like me, are concerned about our children's online safety,” Albanese said.

The proposal comes as governments around the world wrestle with how to monitor young people's use of technology such as smartphones and social media.

Violation of age restrictions on social media platforms will be fined, but minors and their parents will not.

“The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate that they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access. The onus will not be on parents or youth,” Albanese said.

Antigone Davies, head of security at Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said the company would respect any age limit the government wanted to impose.

“What's missing, however, is a deeper discussion on how we implement protections, otherwise we risk making ourselves feel better, as if we've taken action, but teens and parents won't find themselves in a better place,” Davis said in a statement. is

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Social media is harming our children and I am spending time on it.

– Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

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She added that stronger tools in app stores and operating systems would be a “simple and effective solution” for parents to control which apps their children can use.

X did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. TikTok declined to comment.

Digital Industry Group Inc., Australia's digital industry advocate, describes the age limit as “a 20th-century response to 21st-century challenges”.

“Instead of blocking access through bans, we must take a balanced approach to create age-appropriate spaces, build digital literacy and protect young people from harm online,” DIGI Managing Director Sunita Bose said in a statement.

More than 140 Australian and international academics, experts in technology and child welfare fields, signed an open letter to Albanese last month opposing the social media age limit as “a tool to effectively manage risk”.

Jackie Hallen, director of Youth Mental Health Services Reachout, opposed the ban. She said 73% of young people in Australia turned to social media for mental health support.

“We're uncomfortable with the ban. We think young people are more likely to avoid the ban and our concern is that it really drives behavior underground and then if something goes wrong, young people are less likely to get support from parents and carers because they're worried about getting into trouble,” Hallen said.

Child psychologist Philip Tam said a minimum age of 12 or 13 would have been more applicable.

“My real fear, honestly, is that the social media problem will just go underground,” Tam said.

Associate Prophet Gordon, a lawyer at the Australian National University, feared that separating children from their platforms could create pressure on families.

Albanese said there will be exceptions and exemptions in situations such as the need for continued access to educational services.

But a child under 16 cannot access social media with parental consent.

Earlier this year, the government began testing the age-restriction technology. Australia's eSafety Commissioner, the online watchdog that will follow the police, will use the test results to provide a platform to guide what reasonable steps they can take.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the year-long lead-in would allow the age limit to be enforced “in a very practical way”.

“Penalties must be increased to ensure compliance,” Rowland said.

“Every company operating in Australia, resident or otherwise, is expected and must comply with Australian law or face the consequences,” she added.

The main opposition party has supported the 16 age limit in principle.

Opposition MP Paul Fletcher said the platform already had the technology to implement such an age ban.

“It's not really a question of technical feasibility, it's a question of their readiness and whether they have to spend to do it,” Fletcher told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“The platform says, 'It's all too difficult, we can't do it, Australia will be a backwater, it won't be possible.' But if you draft legislation well and you stick to your guns, you can get results,” Fletcher added.