Australia plans to ban social media for kids under 16

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Thursday that he was proposing legislation banning social media for children under the age of 16.

Under the legislation, social media platforms will be required to prevent access to minors under 16 without exceptions for parental consent, Albanese announced at a press conference Thursday. The prime minister cited social media’s harm to children as the reasoning behind the proposal.

“Social media is doing harm to our kids, and I’m calling time on it,” Albanese said at the press conference. “This is world-leading legislation. We want to make sure that it is got right.”

“It’s something that is of enormous concern, and we know the social harm that can be caused and we know the consequences here,” Albanese continued.

Albanese clarified that the burden of protecting minors from social media will fall to the platforms, not parents and that users will not be penalized for breaking this law. The nation will reconsider the legal definition of age-appropriate content so that minors will still have access to educational resources online.

The proposal is set to be reviewed by the cabinet on Friday and will go into effect 12 months after its passage, Albanese said.

“We know that social media offers many benefits to Australians … but we also know that it brings many harms,” Michelle Rowland, Australia’s Communications Minister, said at the conference. “I want to say to parents, just as the Prime Minister did when it comes to protecting children from the harms caused by content or addictive behaviors 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.”

Several U.S. states already enforce restrictions on social media for minors but allow for exceptions for parental consent, such as California and Florida. U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for policymakers to crack down on social media in May 2023, warning of a “profound risk of harm” for minors.

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