Australia approved yesterday a social media ban for children aged under 16 after an emotive debate that has gripped the nation, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world with one of the toughest regulations targeting Big Tech.
The law forces tech giants from Instagram and Facebook owner Meta to TikTok to stop minors logging in or face fines of up to $32 million. A trial of methods to enforce it will start in January with the ban to take effect in a year.
The Social Media Minimum Age bill sets Australia up as a test case for a growing number of governments which have legislated or said they plan to legislate an age restriction on social media amid concern about its mental health impact on young people.
Countries including France and some US states have passed laws to restrict access for minors without a parent’s permission, but the Australian ban is absolute. A full under-14s ban in Florida is being challenged in court on free speech grounds.
Getting the law passed after a marathon last day of Australia’s parliamentary year marks a political win for centre-left Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who goes to an election in 2025 amid sagging opinion polls. The ban faced opposition from privacy advocates and some child rights groups, but 77 per cent of the population wanted it, according to latest polls.
Against the backdrop of a parliamentary inquiry through 2024 which heard evidence from parents of children who had self-harmed due to social media bullying, domestic media backed the ban led by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, the country’s biggest newspaper publisher, with a campaign called “Let Them Be Kids”.
The ban could however strain Australia’s relationship with key ally the United States, where X owner Elon Musk, a central figure in the administration of president-elect Donald Trump, said in a post this month it seemed a “backdoor way to control access to the Internet by all Australians”.
A spokesperson for Meta said the Facebook owner respected Australian law, but it was “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.”
However, some youth advocacy groups and academics had warned the ban could shut off the most vulnerable young people, including LGBTQIA and migrant teenagers, from support networks. The Australian Human Rights Commission said the law may infringe human rights of young people by interfering with their ability to participate in society.
&uuid=(email))