Australia’s government has pledged to introduce what it described as “world-leading” legislation to ban children under the age of 16 from social media.
“Social media is doing harm to our kids and I’m calling time on it,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
“I’ve spoken to thousands of parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles. They, like me, are worried sick about the safety of our kids online.”
The legislation will be introduced in the country’s parliament during its final two weeks in session this year, beginning on 18 November.
Mr Albanese said the age limit would take effect a year after the law is passed – with platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Elon Musk‘s X and Bytedance’s TikTok using those 12 months to work on how to exclude Australian children under 16.
Alphabet’s YouTube would likely also fall within the scope of the legislation, said Australia‘s communications minister Michelle Rowland.
Platforms will be penalised for breaching the age limit, but underage children and their parents will not.
“The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access. The onus won’t be on parents or young people,” Mr Albanese said.
There will be no exemptions for children who have parental consent, or who already have accounts.
However, Mr Albanese said there would be exemptions in circumstances such as a need to continue access to educational services.
Facebook and Instagram owner Meta said its platforms would respect any age limitations the government wants to introduce.
Antigone Davis, head of safety at Meta, said: “However, what’s missing is a deeper discussion on how we implement protections, otherwise we risk making ourselves feel better like we have taken action, but teens and parents will not find themselves in a better place.”
Stronger tools in app stores and operating systems for parents to control what apps their children can use would be a “simple and effective solution”, she added.
The Digital Industry Group (DIGI), a representative body which includes Meta, TikTok, X and Alphabet’s Google as members, said the measure could encourage children to explore darker, unregulated parts of the internet while cutting their access to support networks.
“Keeping young people safe online is a top priority… but the proposed ban for teenagers to access digital platforms is a 20th century response to 21st century challenges,” said DIGI managing director Sunita Bose.
“Rather than blocking access through bans, we need to take a balanced approach to create age-appropriate spaces, build digital literacy and protect young people from online harm,” she added.
More than 140 Australian and international academics with expertise in fields related to technology and child welfare signed an open letter to Mr Albanese last month opposing a social media age limit as “too blunt an instrument to address risks effectively”.