Australia to restrict access to social media for children under 16

Illustrative photo from open sources

Next week, a bill will be introduced to the Australian Parliament that would restrict the use of social media by children under 16.

Explaining the need to pass such a law, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it should minimise the “harm” that social media causes to Australian children. If passed, the law would be the first of its kind in the world.

“This is a law for mums and dads… They are concerned about the safety of their children online, as am I. I want Australian families to know that the government will come to your aid,” Anthony Albanese promised, according to Agence France-Presse.

The prime minister said that when considering the bill, the government consulted not only directly with parents, educators, and childcare professionals, but also with the platforms.

The prime minister's explanations suggest that social networks, not children and their parents, will be held responsible for violating this law. Platforms will need to prove that they “take reasonable steps to prevent children from using their platforms.”.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

The bill will not restrict the use of social networks for children under 16 who are already using them. In addition, the wording of the law will be flexible in that it will be possible to make exceptions, for example for the use of social networks for educational purposes.

Currently, many social platforms in Australia allow children aged 13 and over to create an account, but this requirement can be easily circumvented by indicating the appropriate date of birth. Prime Minister Albanese did not specify how compliance with the new restrictions will be checked and did not provide any technical details.

The bill will come into force 12 months after it is passed in parliament and will be adjusted in the future if necessary. Many Australian public organizations supported the adoption of the amendments. But one of Australia's largest children's rights organizations, the Australian Child Rights Taskforce, criticized the upcoming ban, calling it “too blunt a tool.”

According to the organization's experts, “safety standards” should be developed for social networks and required to comply with them, rather than “depriving children of the opportunity to benefit from using the digital environment.”

Earlier, BAGNET reported that TikTok is massively deleting accounts of children under 13.

Prepared by: Sergey Daga