For children under 16

Australia gets social media ban on track

Australia's Prime Minister Albanese warned of the social damage caused by social media.

(Bild: CDPiC - stock.adobe.com)

Australia is getting its planned social media ban for young people under the age of 16 on track. A corresponding government bill was tabled in the Australian parliament on Thursday - and could be passed in the coming weeks.

This was reported by the Australian news agency AAP. Australia would therefore be the first country in the world to introduce a minimum age for access to social media such as Facebook, Tiktok, Instagram and Snapchat.

"Essentially, we want young Australians to have a childhood. We want parents to have peace of mind," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said during the debate in Parliament. "We know that social media causes social harm."

Tech companies face heavy penalties
The proposed legislation is supported by the opposition: They will engage "constructively" with the aim of passing the bill in parliament as early as next week, said Liberal Party communications spokesman David Coleman, according to the AAP.

In future, the duty to check the minimum age of users should not fall to parents, but to tech companies and internet platforms. The bill provides for penalties of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (around 30.6 million euros) for companies that do not comply with the planned minimum age requirement.

Services such as Messenger Kids, WhatsApp, Kids Helpline, Google Classroom and YouTube are exempt from the ban.