Australia to Ban Under 16 Kids from Social Media
By Kwedu News Editor Harry Taruva
Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has announced an initiative to ban under 16 kids from using social media to try and curb detrimental effects of social media.
The Australian government plans to introduce legislation to this effect, banning social media use for kids, which will be a world-first.
“Social media is harming our kids, and it’s time to put a stop to it,” Albanese stated at a press conference recently.
The decision comes as concerns about social media’s impact on young minds is growing.
Albanese said the proposed ban will apply universally, with no exemptions for parental consent with social media platforms tasked with prevent under age access to their platforms.
“The responsibility will lie with social media platforms to show they are taking reasonable steps to prevent underage access,” he said.
Australian Communications Minister, Michelle Rowland, said the ban would affect platforms such as Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, TikTok and Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter).
Google’s YouTube is also likely to be included under the new regulations, the Minister said.
She said e-Safety Commissioner is the one to determine what platforms or activities are harmful and addictive, or low-risk and could be exempt from the ban.
The proposal comes after Nova radio personality, Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli and filmmaker Rob Galluzzo launched 36 Months, a movement aimed at raising the social media age access from 13 to 16.
Galluzzo, said their goal is, however, not to ban social media entirely.
“We are not anti-Facebook, and we’re not anti-Instagram. This is not an attack on social media. 36 Months is very targeted in its ambition.
“When we say social media, we mean any social network that encourages interactive engagement through addictive features,” Galluzzo said.
The new law is expected in parliament before year end and if passed, comes into effect after 12 months.
