Australia introduces a bill that would ban children under 16 from social media

Australia’s majority party has introduced a bill in Parliament that would ban children under 16 from social media. The legislation, which would put the onus on social platforms rather than children or parents, could fine infringing companies up to AUD$49.5 million ($32.2 million).

The Labor Party’s bill would apply to (among others) Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram and X. It would require platforms to cordon off and destroy any underage user data collected. However, the legislation would include exceptions for health and education services, like Headspace, Google Classroom and YouTube.

“For too many young Australians, social media can be harmful. Almost two-thirds of 14- to 17-year-old Australians have viewed extremely harmful content online, including drug abuse, suicide or self-harm, as well as violent material,” Australia Communications Minister Michelle Rowland told Parliament on Thursday. “A quarter have been exposed to content promoting unsafe eating habits.”

Reuters notes that the law would be one of the most aggressive globally in tackling the problems related to children’s social media use. It wouldn’t include exemptions for parental consent or pre-existing accounts. Essentially, social platforms would have to police their platforms to ensure no child under 16 can use their services.

The bill is supported by the majority (center-left) Labor Party and opposition (right) Liberal Party. “This is a landmark reform,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said. “We know some kids will find workarounds, but we’re sending a message to social media companies to clean up their act.”

The (left) Australian Greens have criticized the legislation, saying it ignores expert evidence in “ramming” the law through Parliament without proper scrutiny. “The recent Parliamentary Inquiry into Social Media heard time and time again that an age-ban will not make social media safer for anyone,” Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said in a statement. “[The bill] is complicated to implement and will have unintended consequences for young people.”

Last year, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy sounded the alarm about the risks of underage social media use. “Children and adolescents who spend more than 3 hours a day on social media face double the risk of mental health problems including experiencing symptoms of depression and anxiety,” the 2023 advisory from the Surgeon General’s office read.

The US requires tech companies to seek parental consent to access the data of children under 13, but it doesn’t have any age restrictions. Reuters notes that France enacted a social media ban for children under 15 last year, but it allows children to still access the services with parental consent.