By Alasdair Pal and Byron Kaye
SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated on Thursday the federal government would legislate for a ban on social media for kids beneath 16, a coverage the federal government says is world-leading.
“Social media is doing harm to our kids and I’m calling time on it,” Albanese informed a information convention.
Laws can be launched into parliament this yr, with the legal guidelines coming into impact 12 months after it’s ratified by lawmakers, he added.
There can be no exemptions for customers who’ve parental consent.
“The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access,” Albanese stated. “The onus won’t be on parents or young people.”
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland stated platforms impacted would come with Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:)’ Instagram and Fb, in addition to Bytedance’s TikTok and Elon Musk’s X. Alphabet (NASDAQ:)’s YouTube would seemingly additionally fall inside the scope of the laws, she added.
All 4 firms impacted weren’t instantly reachable for remark.
Various nations have already vowed to curb social media use by youngsters via laws, although Australia’s coverage is without doubt one of the most stringent.
France final yr proposed a ban on social media for these beneath 15, although customers have been capable of keep away from the ban with parental consent.
The US has for many years required know-how firms to hunt parental consent to entry the info of kids beneath 13, resulting in most social media platforms banned these beneath that age from accessing their companies.
