Protecting kids? Australian government confirms plan to implement restriction on social media for children under 16
The Australian government has on Thursday confirmed what it calls “world leading legislation” in order to tackle the use of social media by children and young teenagers.
The Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced at a press conference that the new legislation with the proposed age of 16 to be allowed to use social media, will be similar to other laws such as restricting alcohol sales to those over 18 years.
At the moment, Facebook, Instagram, Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok stipulates that children have to be at least 13 years old to use their platforms. But Australia is proposing to write a 16 year limit into legislation – a move that may further trigger Elon Musk’s ire against the Australian government.
Social media ban
Prime Minister Albanese during the press conference made clear his reasoning for restriction children’s use of social media platforms.
“Social media is doing harm to our kids and I’m calling time on it,” he said. “I’ve spoken to thousands of parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles. They, like me, are worried sick about the safety of our kids online. And I want Australian parents and families to know that the Government has your back.”
“We don’t argue that the changes that we will be legislating will fix everything immediately,” he added. “We have laws such as people can’t buy alcohol if they’re under 18, and from time to time that can be broken. But those laws set what the parameters are for our society and they assist in ensuring the right outcomes.”
“Now the Government’s proposed age is 16 – that decision was made in Cabinet on Monday,” he said. “And that proposal will go to the National Cabinet meeting that I’m convening online, a virtual meeting, tomorrow morning. The onus will be on, just to go through some of the details, the onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access. The onus won’t be on parents or young people. There will be no penalties for users.”
He stated that Australia’s eSafety Commissioner will provide oversight and enforcement, and the legislation will come into force 12 months after passage.
“The Albanese Government is focused on positive solutions to issues of national concern and the issue of the harms that are being caused to young people through social media is right up the top of that list,” added Michelle Rowland, Australian Minister for Communications.
“What we are announcing here and what we will legislate will be truly world leading,” said Rowland. “I want to say to those parents, just as the Prime Minister did, when it comes to protecting children from the harms caused by content or addictive behaviours as a result of social media, we are on your side. The fact is that social media has a social responsibility, but the platforms are falling short.”
It is understood that the legislation will be introduced in Parliament during its final two weeks in session this year, which begin on 18 November.
The main opposition party in Australia has given (in-principle) its support for an age limit at 16.
Platform response
Antigone Davis, head of safety at Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, told the Associated Press the company would respect any age limitations the government wants to introduce.
“However, what’s missing is a deeper discussion on how we implement protections, otherwise we risk making ourselves feel better, like we have taken action, but teens and parents will not find themselves in a better place,” Davis reportedly said in a statement.
She added that stronger tools in app stores and operating systems for parents to control what apps their children can use would be a “simple and effective solution.”
X did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday, the AP reported.
TikTok reportedly declined to comment.
