SYDNEY (AFP) — Australia’s prime minister on Thursday vowed to ban children under 16 from social media, saying the pervasive influence of platforms like Facebook and TikTok was “doing real harm to our kids.”
The tech giants would be held responsible for enforcing the age limit and face hefty fines if regulators notice young users slipping through the cracks, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
Australia is among the vanguard of nations trying to clean up social media, and the proposed age limit would be among the world’s strictest measures aimed at children.
“This one is for the mums and dads. Social media is doing real harm to kids and I’m calling time on it,” Albanese told reporters outside parliament.
The new laws would be presented to state and territory leaders this week, before being introduced to parliament in late November.
Once passed, the tech platforms would be given a one-year grace period to figure out how to implement and enforce the ban.
“The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access,” Albanese said, explaining what he dubbed a “world-leading” reform.
“The onus won’t be on parents or young people.”
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said it would “respect any age limitations the government wants to introduce.”
But Antigone Davis, Meta’s head of safety, said Australia should think carefully about how these restrictions were implemented.
She said poorly drafted laws “risk making ourselves feel better, like we have taken action, but teens and parents will not find themselves in a better place.”
Snapchat pointed to a statement from industry body DIGI, which warned that a ban could stop teenagers from accessing “mental health support.”
“Swimming has risks, but we don’t ban young people from the beach, we teach them to swim between the flags,” a DIGI spokesperson said. TikTok said it had nothing to add at this stage.