Australia bans children under 16 from using social networks

The Australian government will enact a law banning children under 16 from using social media and severely punishing platforms if they fail to comply with minimum age regulations.

The Australian government has announced it will introduce child-friendly social media laws, in a world- leading effort to tackle the dangers posed to young people by the internet.

Australia bans children under 16 from using social networks.

Children under 16 will be banned from using social media. Platform companies will be fined if they fail to comply. "Social media is harming our children and I'm calling for it to stop," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

The bill will be introduced to the National Assembly in the final two weeks of this year's session, which begins on November 18.

Mr Albanese told reporters the age restriction would come into effect 12 months after the law is passed. Platforms like X, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook would need to use that time to block access to Australian children under 16. “I’ve spoken to thousands of parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles who, like me, are concerned about the safety of our children online,” Mr Albanese said.

Social media platforms will be fined for breaching age restrictions, but minors and their parents will not be penalised. “The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate that they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access. The onus will not be on parents, or young people,” Mr Albanese said.

Antigone Davis, chief safety officer at Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, said its platforms would respect any age restrictions imposed by the government. “What’s missing, however, is a deeper discussion about how we implement these safeguards, otherwise we risk making ourselves feel better about taking action, but teens and parents won’t feel any better about themselves,” Davis said.

Stronger tools in app stores and operating systems for parents to control which apps their children can use would be a simple and effective solution, she added.

More than 140 Australian and international academics with expertise in areas related to technology and child welfare signed an open letter to Mr Albanese last month opposing social media age restrictions, calling them “too blunt a tool to effectively address risk”.

Jackie Hallan, director of youth mental health service ReachOut, is against the ban. She said 73 per cent of young people across the country access mental health support through social media. "We are uncomfortable with the ban. We think young people are able to circumvent the rules and the concern is that it really pushes that behaviour into the shadows and then if something happens, young people are less likely to get support from their parents and carers because they could get into trouble," Ms Hallan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Child psychologist Philip Tam said a minimum age of 12 or 13 would be easier to enforce, but the Prime Minister reassured that there would be exceptions and exemptions, such as the need to continue to access educational services.

(Source ABC)

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/australia-cam-tre-em-duoi-16-tuoi-su-dung-mang-xa-hoi-192241109074551178.htm