politics
Australia Plans to Strengthen Under-16 Social Media Ban
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government is examining options to reinforce the prohibition on children under 16 holding accounts on major platforms. Officials are assessing whether current laws and the eSafety Commissioner's powers are sufficient. Compliance data released earlier this year showed most minors continue to use the restricted services.
The IndependentAudio version
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The Australian government plans to strengthen laws banning children younger than 16 from social media platforms, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. Albanese told Parliament on Thursday that the government was considering options to reinforce the ban.
“We’re working on that as a priority because this is something that other generations didn’t have to deal with, which is why it’s complex,” he said.
He told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. on Friday that officials were examining whether the laws are as strong as possible and whether eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant has every power at her disposal. The legislation came into force on Dec.
10 last year. Data released by eSafety in March showed seven in 10 underage children continued to hold accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok. A study published in the British Medical Journal on Wednesday found 85 percent of a group of Australian 12- to 17-year-olds were using restricted platforms.
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, X, Kick, Reddit, Threads and Twitch face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove accounts of children under 16. Inman Grant said in April she was considering court action against Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube.
Albanese said the government would proceed with digital duty of care legislation to hold platforms accountable for foreseeable harms caused by content and algorithms.
Lisa Given of RMIT University said the proposed reform responded to evidence that the ban was failing and that courts would need to decide what constituted reasonable steps under the law. Australia was the first country to enact such a measure. Britain announced plans last week to impose a similar ban, while Canada, Brazil and Indonesia have introduced age-based restrictions.
