There are no exemptions to the age limit for children with parental consent. The government said the onus would be on social media platforms to show they were taking reasonable steps to prevent access.
Albanese said there would be no penalties for users and it would be up to Australia’s online regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, to enforce the law.
The bill will take effect 12 months after passage and will be subject to review after implementation.
Although most experts agree that social media platforms can harm young people’s mental health, many disagree about the effectiveness of efforts to legalize them altogether.
Some experts argue that the ban will only delay exposure to apps like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook instead of teaching young people how to navigate complex online spaces.
previous attempt Attempts to restrict access, including in the European Union, have largely failed or found it difficult to implement, given that tools exist to circumvent age verification requirements.
Australia’s peak children’s rights body criticized the proposed ban as “too blunt a tool”.
In an open letter to the government in October signed by more than 100 academics and more than 20 civil society groups, the Australian Children’s Rights Taskforce urged the government to consider imposing “safety standards” on social media platforms instead. He urged Albanians.
The group also points to UN advice that ‘national policies’ aimed at regulating online spaces ‘should aim to provide children with opportunities to participate in and benefit from digital environments by ensuring safe access’. I did it.
but other grassroots organization It lobbied the Australian government to say the ban was necessary to protect children from harmful content, misinformation, bullying and other social pressures.
A petition by campaign group 36Months, which has garnered more than 120,000 signatures, says children are “not yet ready to safely navigate online social networks” until at least 16 years old, and that “excessive social media use is now leading to a psychological crisis.” “We are rewiring young brains within a critical window.” It develops and causes an epidemic of mental illness.”
Asked whether there should be a broader effort to educate children about how to navigate the benefits and risks of online use, Albanese said such an approach would be insufficient because it “assumes equal power relationships.”
“I don’t know about you, but there are things in my system that I don’t want to see, let alone a vulnerable 14-year-old,” he told reporters Thursday.
“These tech companies are incredibly powerful. These apps have algorithms that push people toward certain actions.”
