Australia approves ban on social media for under-16s

The landmark Social Media Minimum Age bill sets Australia up as a test case for a growing number of governments.

Australian lawmakers approved a bill on Thursday banning social media for children under 16.

It requires social media platforms like Meta, X, and TikTok to take "reasonable steps" to prevent young teens from having accounts. The companies could be fined up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (€30.5 million; $32 million) if they fail to comply.

The legislation passed parliament's lower chamber on Wednesday and passed the Senate late on Thursday evening.

A trial of methods to enforce the measure will start in January with the ban to take effect in a year.

Scarce details on enforcement

The House has yet to endorse opposition amendments made in the Senate.

Australia's major parties, however, all supported the bill, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying young Australians should be "off their phones and onto the footy and cricket field, the tennis and netball courts, in the swimming pool."

Platforms would not be allowed to compel users to provide government-issued ID or digital identification through a government system. Underage users and their parents will not be punished for any violations. 

Some, including Green Party Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, blasted the bill, saying it "is boomers trying to tell young people how the internet should work."

"It's also obvious that the people who have drafted and fought for the particular elements of this bill actually have no idea how young people engage with the internet," she added. 

Sunita Bose, managing director of the digital industry body DIGI, said more details on how the rules will be enforced need to be provided.

"We have the bill but we don't have guidance from the Australian government around what are the right methods that a whole host of services subject to this law will need to employ."

Stricter social media curbs considered worldwide 

Other countries will likely be watching closely to see how this legislation is enforced. Many of them are thinking about making similar bans.

In June, Spain proposed a law raising the age of people using social media from 14 to 16.

Last year, France proposed a ban on social media for users under 15, but many were able to circumvent it with parental consent. 

Meanwhile, the United States, for decades now, has required tech companies to seek parental consent to access the data of users under 13.

China has restricted access for minors since 2021, with under-14s not allowed to spend more than 40 minutes a day on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok.

lo/nm (Reuters, AFP, AP)