Australia passes world-first social media ban for children under-16
Children under-16 will be banned from using social media from the end of next year, after the world-first legislation passed the parliament on Thursday.
The law means that anyone under the age of 16 will be blocked from using platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook among others, and will make the platforms liable with fines of up to $50 million for failing to prevent these children from holding social media accounts.
The Senate passed the bill 34 votes to 19 last Thursday, with The House of Representatives approving the legislation by 102 votes to 13 on Wednesday.
The platforms will have one year to work out how to implement the ban before penalties are enforced, however the laws have received mixed reviews from tech companies and mental health experts alike.
Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said the legislation had been “rushed.”
Digital Industry Group Inc., an advocate for the platforms in Australia, also questioned how it would work and the impact it would have on children.
“The social media ban legislation has been released and passed within a week and, as a result, no one can confidently explain how it will work in practice – the community and platforms are in the dark about what exactly is required of them,” DIGI managing director Sunita Bose said.
The platforms cannot force people to provide government-issued identity documents, including the Digital ID, to assess their age.
“This policy will hurt vulnerable young people the most, especially in regional communities and especially the LGBTQI community, by cutting them off,” Greens senator David Shoebridge said.
Mental health experts agreed that the social media ban could dangerously isolate children who used social media to find support.
Christopher Stone, executive director of Suicide Prevention Australia, added the legislation failed to consider positive aspects of social media in supporting young people's mental health.
“The government is running blindfolded into a brick wall by rushing this legislation. Young Australians deserve evidence-based policies, not decisions made in haste,” Stone said in a statement.
Online safety campaigner Sonya Ryan, whose 15-year-old daughter Carly was murdered by a 50-year-old pedophile who pretended to be a teenager online, described the Senate vote as a “monumental moment in protecting our children from horrendous harms online," in an email to the AP.
Wayne Holdsworth, a father whose son took his own life following a sextortion scam, also approved the decision to introduce the age restriction.
Meta Platforms has responded to the new laws saying: “Naturally, we respect the laws decided by the Australian Parliament."
“However, we are concerned about 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.”
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