Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Thursday that his government will legislate a ban on social media access for children under 16, a measure being called “world-leading.”
“Social media is doing harm to our kids, and I’m calling time on it,” Albanese said at a press conference.
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The proposed legislation, set to be introduced to parliament this year, would take effect 12 months after being passed. The policy will not allow exemptions for users with parental consent.
“The responsibility will be on social media platforms to prove they’re taking reasonable steps to block underage access,” Albanese emphasized. “It won’t be up to parents or young people.”
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland noted that the law would target platforms like Instagram and Facebook (Meta), TikTok (ByteDance), X (formerly Twitter, owned by Elon Musk), and likely YouTube (Alphabet).
None of the four companies affected were immediately available for comment.
Several nations have already committed to regulating social media use for minors through legislative measures, but Australia’s approach ranks among the most restrictive.
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In France, a similar law proposed last year would ban social media for children under 15, although users could bypass the restriction with parental consent.
For decades, the United States has mandated that tech companies obtain parental consent to collect data from users under 13, resulting in most social media platforms prohibiting access for this age group.
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