Australia, the law has arrived that bans social media for children under 16 years of age

A law arrives in Australia for ban children under 16 from using social media: The government has announced that the aim is to “reduce the damage” that these platforms are causing to young people.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the rules would be presented to parliament next week. “I want Australian families to know the government is on their side,” he said, adding that with this law parents will be able to say: “I’m sorry, but it’s against the law”». The rule will come into force 12 months after approval and, once operational, will be subject to review.

Although many details are yet to be discussed, the government has made it clear that the ban will also concern children already registered on social media. There will be no exceptions at the minimum age, not even with parental consent.

The responsibility to demonstrate that adequate measures are taken to prevent access to children under 16 will be with the platforms themselves: There are no sanctions for minors who manage to access anyway, nor for their parentsbut companies that do not comply could be fined, as Communications Minister Michelle Rowland explained.

Although many experts agree that social media can harm the mental health of teenagers, there are differing opinions on the effectiveness of a complete ban. Some experts believe that banning social media for younger people will only delay their exposure to apps like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, rather than teach them to move safely in online spaces.

There also remain many doubts about how the law can be enforced, considering that there are tools to circumvent age checks. But the prime minister did not rule out the possibility of using it biometric scanning systems or government databases to verify age of users.

One of the largest children’s rights advocacy groups in Australia has criticized the proposal, calling it “too drastic an intervention”: in an open letter sent to the government in October, signed by more than 100 academics and 20 civil society organisations, the ‘Australian Child Rights Taskforce invited Albanese to instead consider the introduction of “safety standards” for social platforms. Other experts, however, supported the Australian government, saying a ban is necessary to protect children from harmful content, misinformation and bullying.

When asked whether it would not be more effective to educate children to manage the risks and benefits of the online world, Albanese replied that an approach of this type would not be sufficient, since it “presupposes a relationship of equality”. «I don’t know about you, but I get things on the screen that I don’t want to see. Let alone a fourteen year old vulnerable”. And again: «These technology companies are extremely powerful. Their apps have algorithms that influence user behavior.”