Australia vows to ban social media for children under 16

Australia's authorities has pledged to present what it described arsenic "world-leading" authorities to prohibition children nether the property of 16 from societal media.

"Social media is doing harm to our kids and I'm calling clip connected it," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

"I've spoken to thousands of parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles. They, similar me, are disquieted sick astir the information of our kids online."

The authorities volition beryllium introduced successful the country's parliament during its last 2 weeks successful league this year, opening connected 18 November.

Mr Albanese said the property bounds would instrumentality effect a twelvemonth aft the instrumentality is passed - with platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Elon Musk's X and Bytedance's TikTok utilizing those 12 months to enactment connected however to exclude Australian children nether 16.

Alphabet's YouTube would apt besides autumn wrong the scope of the legislation, said Australia's communications curate Michelle Rowland.

Platforms volition beryllium penalised for breaching the property limit, but underage children and their parents volition not.

"The onus volition beryllium connected societal media platforms to show they are taking tenable steps to forestall access. The onus won't beryllium connected parents oregon young people," Mr Albanese said.

There volition beryllium nary exemptions for children who person parental consent, oregon who already person accounts.

However, Mr Albanese said determination would beryllium exemptions successful circumstances specified arsenic a request to proceed entree to acquisition services.

Facebook and Instagram proprietor Meta said its platforms would respect immoderate property limitations the authorities wants to introduce.

Antigone Davis, caput of information astatine Meta, said: "However, what's missing is simply a deeper treatment connected however we instrumentality protections, different we hazard making ourselves consciousness amended similar we person taken action, but teens and parents volition not find themselves successful a amended place."

Stronger tools successful app stores and operating systems for parents to power what apps their children tin usage would beryllium a "simple and effectual solution", she added.

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The Digital Industry Group (DIGI), a typical assemblage which includes Meta, TikTok, X and Alphabet's Google arsenic members, said the measurement could promote children to research darker, unregulated parts of the net portion cutting their entree to enactment networks.

"Keeping young radical harmless online is simply a apical priority... but the projected prohibition for teenagers to entree integer platforms is simply a 20th period effect to 21st period challenges," said DIGI managing manager Sunita Bose.

"Rather than blocking entree done bans, we request to instrumentality a balanced attack to make age-appropriate spaces, physique integer literacy and support young radical from online harm," she added.

More than 140 Australian and planetary academics with expertise successful fields related to exertion and kid payment signed an unfastened missive to Mr Albanese past period opposing a societal media property bounds arsenic "too blunt an instrumentality to code risks effectively".