Australia Bans Social Media for Under 16s: A World-First Crackdown or a ‘Blunt Instrument’?
Australia's parliament has passed legislation to ban under-16s from using social media, but critics argue it may not protect young people. | Credit: Pexels.
Key Takeaways
- Australia’s parliament has passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill.
- The bill prevents children under the age of 16 from using social media.
- However, critics argue that it may not protect young people from social media harms.
Australia’s parliament has passed a bill prohibiting children under 16 from accessing social media platforms.
While Prime Minister Anthony Albanese lauded the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill as a landmark effort to protect young people from online harms, critics have questioned whether the approach will work.
Parliament Passes Social Media Ban
Having passed the Senate on Thursday, Nov. 29, with 34 votes of support and 19 detractors, the House agreed to the Senate’s amendments on Friday, completing the bill’s passage through parliament.
The final text of the legislation leaves many questions unanswered. Most crucially, what exactly counts as “reasonable steps” to prevent age-restricted users from having accounts? However, it at least establishes the legal basis for any new regulation, which will become finalized in the months ahead.
Governments and regulators worldwide will closely watch how the initiative pans out as countries like the U.K. consider similar social media restrictions.
Criticism of the Bill
With so many uncertainties in play and with a limited understanding of social media harms, critics of prohibition have argued that outright bans risk making things worse by cutting platform operators out of the conversation entirely.
In an open letter to the government, the Australian Child Rights Taskforce argued that “a ‘ban’ is too blunt an instrument to address risks effectively.”
The letter points out that many young people will easily circumvent social media bans. Yet, “platforms would be disincentivized from offering child safety features for any younger users that do still ‘slip onto’ a platform via ineffective age assurance.”
Privacy Concerns
Alongside safety concerns, critics have also voiced misgivings about the bill’s potential implications for privacy and internet freedom.
Elon Musk, for example, called the government’s proposal “a backdoor way to control access to the Internet.”
Other critics include Meta, which warned that the policy might require platforms to collect wholesale biometric data from Australian users.
Elon Musk Accuses Australia of Internet Control Over Teen Social Media Ban
