PM Anthony Albanese told reporters ‘social media is doing harm to our kids and I’m calling time on it’
File photo dated 03/01/18 of social media apps, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and WhatsApp, displayed on a mobile phone screen. More than half of young people aged 13 to 17 have seen real-life violence on social media in the past 12 months including fighting, threats and sexual assaults, research suggests.
Issue date: Monday November 14, 2022. PA Photo. A survey carried out on behalf of the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) also found that 24 per cent had seen another child carrying a weapon online. See PA story POLICE Violence. Photo credit should read: Yui Mok/PA Wire
Australia’s PM wants to stop children using social media to ‘stop social harm’ (Photo: Yui Mok/PA)
Australia’s government says it will introduce legislation a ban on social media for children under 16, in a move it says is a world first.
“Social media is doing harm to our kids and I’m calling time on it,” Anthony Albanese, the prime minister, told a news conference.
Legislation will be introduced into parliament this year, with the laws coming into effect 12 months after it is ratified by politicians, he added.
There will be no exemptions for users who have parental consent.
“The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access,” Mr Albanese said.
“The onus won’t be on parents or young people.”
Earlier this year he said he wanted “to see kids off their devices and onto the footy fields and the swimming pools and the tennis courts.”
“We want them to have real experiences with real people because we know that social media is causing social harm.”
The country’s Communications Minister, Michelle Rowland, said platforms impacted would include Instagram and Facebook, as well as TikTok and X. YouTube would likely also fall within the scope of the legislation, she added.
None of the companies which own the platforms have yet commented on the proposal.
A number of countries have already vowed to curb social media use by children through legislation, though Australia’s policy is one of the most stringent.
France last year proposed a ban on social media for those under 15, though users were able to avoid the ban with parental consent.
The United States has for decades required technology companies to seek parental consent to access the data of children under 13, leading to most social media platforms banned those under that age from accessing their services.
By Jacqui Housden
