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Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese proposes banning social media Instagram Facebook Meta for children under 16, says he has called on her
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Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese proposes banning social media Instagram Facebook Meta for children under 16, says he has called on her

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Thursday the government will legislate to ban social media for children under 16, a policy the government says is world-leading.

“Social media is harming our children and it takes time,” Albanese told a news conference.

The legislation will be introduced in parliament this year, with the laws coming into force 12 months after they are ratified by MPs, he added.

There will be no exemptions for users who have parental consent.

“The onus will be on the social media platforms to demonstrate that they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access,” Albanese said. — The burden will not fall to the parents or the youth.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said platforms affected would include Meta Platforms’ ( META.O ) Instagram and Facebook, as well as Bytedance’s TikTok and Elon Musk’s X.

Alphabet’s ( GOOGL.O ) YouTube would also likely fall within the scope of the legislation, she added.

All four affected companies were not immediately available for comment.

A number of countries have already promised to limit children’s use of social media through legislation, although Australia’s policy is one of the strictest.

France last year proposed banning social media for under-15s, although users could circumvent the ban with parental consent.

The United States has for decades required tech companies to seek parental consent to access the data of children under 13, which has led to most social media platforms barring access to their services to those under that age.

Posted by:

Nakul Ahuja

Published on:

November 7, 2024