Australia proposes social media ban before age 16

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.

Who said what

"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."

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What next?

Albanese said his government would introduce the legislation to Parliament next week, and if passed, the ban would be enforced by Australia's online regulator, the eSafety Commissioner.