The Australian government will introduce legislation to ban social media for children under 16, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Thursday. He described it as a world-leading package of measures set to become law by the end of next year.
Australia is testing an age-verification system aimed at preventing children from using social media platforms. This is part of a range of measures that represent some of the most stringent controls any country has implemented so far.
“Social media is harming our children, and it’s time to put a stop to it,” Albanese stated during a press conference.
Albanese highlighted the dangers to children’s physical and mental health from excessive social media use. He pointed out the specific threats to girls from negative body image portrayals and to boys from misogynistic content.
“If you’re a 14-year-old kid getting this stuff at a time when you’re going through life’s changes and maturing, it can be a really difficult time. What we’re doing is listening and then acting,” he said.
Several countries have pledged to restrict children’s social media access through laws, but Australia’s approach is among the most severe.
No country has yet attempted age verification through methods like biometrics or government IDs to enforce social media age restrictions, both of which are currently under trial in Australia.
Australia is also setting a global precedent with the strictest age requirements to date, including no exceptions for parental consent or existing accounts before the legislation.
The legislation will be presented to the Australian parliament this year, and the laws are expected to take effect a year after approval, Albanese noted. The opposition Liberal Party supports the proposed ban.
The new rules will not allow exceptions, even for children with parental permission or pre-existing accounts.
“The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access,” said Albanese. “The onus won’t be on parents or young people.”
“What we are announcing here and what we will legislate will be truly world-leading,” Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said.
Rowland mentioned that the affected platforms would include Meta Platforms’ Instagram and Facebook, Bytedance’s TikTok, and Elon Musk’s X. Alphabet’s YouTube is also likely to be included under this legislation.
The Digital Industry Group, which includes Meta, TikTok, X, and Alphabet’s Google, argued that this policy might push young people towards more dangerous, unregulated areas of the internet and cut off their access to supportive networks.
“Keeping young people safe online is a top priority… but the proposed ban for teenagers to access digital platforms is a 20th Century response to 21st Century challenges,” said DIGI Managing Director Sunita Bose.
“Rather than blocking access through bans, we need to take a balanced approach to create age-appropriate spaces, build digital literacy, and protect young people from online harm,” she added.
Last year, France proposed a social media ban for those under 15, though the ban could be circumvented with parental consent.
In the United States, laws have required tech companies to obtain parental consent for accessing children’s data under 13 for decades, leading many social media platforms to prohibit access to their services for users below that age.
