Australia proposes social media ban before age 16

'Social media is doing harm to our kids and I'm calling time on it,' said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

(Image credit: David Gray / AFP via Getty Images)

published 7 November 2024

What happened

Australia's government introduced legislation to bar people under 16 from social media. The age limit would take effect 12 months after being signed into law, giving Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook and other social media companies time to figure out how to comply.

"Social media is doing harm to our kids and I'm calling time on it," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said to reporters. "The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access," and they will be the ones penalized for underage use, he said. "The onus won't be on parents or young people." There would be no exceptions for young people who have parental consent, though kids already on social media would be exempted.

Most experts "agree that social media platforms can harm the mental health of adolescents," the BBC said, but they are "split over the efficacy" of total bans. More than 140 Australian and international experts said in a letter to Albanese last month that the proposed age limit was "too blunt an instrument." Meta's head of safety Antigone Davis said Instagram and Facebook would respect any age limit in Australia, but argued that stronger parental controls in app stores and operating systems would be a more "simple and effective solution."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.