Children under 16 to be banned from using social media

Children under 16 would be banned from social media platforms under laws Prime Minister Anthony Albanese plans to introduce to protect the mental health of young people.

Albanese said at a press conference on Thursday that the government planned to make social media companies responsible for enforcing the ban, while children and their parents would not be penalised if they flouted it.

The onus will be on social media companies to police the age of users.

“Social media is doing harm to our kids, and I’m calling time on it,” Albanese said. “I want parents to be able to say: ‘Sorry, mate, it’s against the law’.”

But the government has not unveiled key details, including the technology that would be used to keep children out, the scale of penalties for social media firms that breached the rules and the extent of exemptions to the ban.

The federal government announced in September it planned to limit teens’ use of platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook. That announcement followed months of growing support for the idea from the opposition, media outlets and child safety experts.

Albanese revealed on Thursday that federal cabinet had landed on 16 as the age threshold for social media, representing a stricter model than South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, who has floated a state-based law blocking children under 14.

The prime minister has convened a national cabinet meeting of all premiers and chief ministers on Friday to seek agreement on his preferred age, with legislation expected next year.

Albanese said overuse of social media by young people was the “number one discussion” among parents, and acknowledged the ban might not be perfect. “We don’t pretend that you can get a 100 per cent outcome here,” he said.

Just as it made sense to persist with underage drinking laws despite some teens getting around it, the prime minister argued it was right to pursue a social media ban despite its complexities.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the government’s plans were “world-leading”. No country has a ban in place like the one being mooted in Australia.

Rowland said new penalties would be needed to ensure platforms complied and noted some platforms such as Instagram had announced new safety features as the prospect of a ban loomed.

Platforms currently ask if a person is over 13 to create an account, which can be easily gamed.

Australia’s eSafety commissioner has instead recommended a “double-blind tokenised approach”, whereby information would be provided to a verifying third party that would certify the user’s age to social media platforms without revealing details about the child.

The details of the plan are being worked through by a trial of age-verification technologies.

Opposition communications spokesman David Coleman, who floated a ban last year, expressed scepticism about Labor’s plans, including potential exemptions to the ban.

“There can’t be any scenario where products like TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat can be exempted from the law,” he said.

“These platforms are inherently unsafe for younger children, and the idea that they can be made safe is absurd. The government shouldn’t be negotiating with the platforms.”

“Even today the minister was talking about the importance of the age-verification trial – but incredibly it still hasn’t started.”

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