Australian parliament approves world-first social media ban for users under 16
Australia has effectively passed some of the world’s strictest regulations for social media use, which will put teens and social media giants on notice.
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Teens under 16 will soon be banned from social media apps like TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, Snapchat and Facebook after the world-first laws passed parliament on Friday morning.
The significant Bill was part of a marathon last minute rush to pass 31 pieces of legislation in the last sitting week of 2024 before parliament breaks for nine weeks.
The divisive social media laws were approved by the House on Friday morning, in a move Anthony Albanese said will encourage “better outcomes and less harm for young Australians”.
The Prime Minster also said the ban, which will take effect in a year, will help encourage young Australians to foster better relationships with others.
“One of the things I want to see is young Australians, older too, having conversations with each other,” he said, adding the phone ban in schools across various states has resulted in positive change.
“There’s more concentration in classrooms, they’re playing with each other at play lunch and engaging with others in a face-to-face way.
“We’re getting better outcomes, healthier outcomes.”
Mr Albanese added the government had a “responsibility to act” after concerns were raised by parents who have lost children to bullying online.
“I’ve met with parents who have lost and buried a child, it’s devastating,” he said. “We can’t, as a government, hear those messages from parents and say ‘It’s too hard’. We have a responsibility to act, my government has done that.”
As part of the Bill, social media companies like Meta, who owns Instagram and Facebook, would be required to take steps to prevent under-16s from using their services.
Companies that fail to comply may be subjected to a $50m fine.
The Coalition argued the legislation was an important step in protecting children and teenagers from the “harms” of social media, arguing the age limit would keep them safe.
Speaking on Friday morning, Treasurer Jim Chalmers lamented that while many Bills were successfully passed through the Senate this week, stalled negotiations with the Coalition and cross bench had stalled proceedings, like the Reserve Bank reforms.
The legislation, which was passed with the help from the Greens, aims to create a dual board structure at the RBA to separately oversee the setting of interest rates and the central bank’s governance.
“If it were up to us, we would have passed it a long time ago, and we would have already had new arrangements in place,” he said, arguing the missed deadline was due to “parliamentary shenanigans” on July 1 of this year.
Despite a mostly positive response from parents, there have been questions raised about how the ban will work, with some criticising the Bill and arguing the process was too rushed.
The legislation was introduced to parliament last week – with only three days on the sitting parliamentary calendar – offered Australians only one day to lodge submissions voicing their concerns about the social media ban, resulting in 15,000 submissions.
An inquiry into the ban only lasted three hours.
Critics also argued the ban would not effectively assist children and teenagers’ mental health, instead isolating them from the platforms and possibly encouraging them to seek alternative routes to access platforms, such as the dark web.
Under the legislation, parents or children who fail to comply will not face any penalties
The specifics of the age-verification process have yet to be confirmed, however Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has confirmed users will not have to hand over government issued ID to prove their age.
Meta slams bill
A spokesman for Meta – the tech giant that owns Facebook and Instagram – argued there was a “lack of evidence” to suggest social media has a causal link with childrens’ mental health.
“Naturally, we respect the laws decided by the Australian parliament,” the statement read.
“However, we are concerned about the process which rushed the legislation through while failing to properly consider the evidence, what industry already does to ensure age-appropriate experiences, and the voices of young people.”
The social media giant said the government now needs to ensure it nails the implementation of the ban, so it doesn’t result in any unintended consequences.
“The task now turns to ensuring there is productive consultation on all rules associated with the Bill to ensure a technically feasible outcome that does not place an onerous burden on parents and teens and a commitment that rules will be consistently applied across all social apps used by teens.
“One simple option is age verification at the operating system and app store level which reduces the burden and minimises the amount of sensitive information shared.”
Originally published as Australian parliament approves world-first social media ban for users under 16
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