Australia introduces bill to ban children from social media

The Australian government has introduced a bill that aims to ban children under 16 from accessing social media and proposes fines for platforms that break the new age verification rules.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland introduced an amendment to the Online Safety Act in Parliament on Thursday, saying the law would force social media platforms, and not parents or young people, to take reasonable steps to ensure that age-verification protections are in place.

A minimum age of 16 for access to age-restricted social media platforms “aims to meet the expectations of Australians to minimize exposure to the harms experienced by young people on social media.” 

Almost two-thirds of 14- to 17-year-old Australians have viewed extremely harmful content online, including drug abuse, suicide, and self-harm, Rowland said.

The legislation includes financial penalties of up to AU$50 million (US$32.5 million) for companies found not to have taken “reasonable steps to prevent age-restricted users having accounts.”

According to media reports, the legislation is expected to apply to social media platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, X, and Reddit. The bill, however, does not mention any specific platform.

The bill has the support of the governing Labor Party and the opposition Liberals. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in September while announcing the age limit plans that he wants children “off their phones and on the footy field.” The prime minister cited parents’ concerns that social media is negatively affecting their children’s physical and mental health.

If passed, the legislation would grant no exemptions for parental consent or pre-existing accounts. Social media platforms would have one year to work out how to implement the age restrictions.

“This is a landmark reform,” Albanese said in a statement on Thursday. “We know some kids will find workarounds, but we’re sending a message to social media companies to clean up their act.” 

Critics of the proposed law have argued that the measures impinge on young people’s right to free expression and pose risks to privacy.

X owner Elon Musk posted on his social media platform: “Seems like a backdoor way to control access to the Internet by all Australians.”

A number of countries, such as China, France, Spain, as well as several US states, have also passed laws aimed at restricting social media use by minors.