On Tuesday, Australia announced its intention to introduce legislation this year that would prohibit children from using social media platforms due to the associated risks to both physical and mental health.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stated that his center-left government plans to initiate an age verification trial in the coming months.
“I want to see kids away from their devices and engaged in activities like football, swimming, and tennis. We want them to have real-life experiences with real people because we know social media can cause social harm,” Albanese told ABC News.
Although he didn’t specify exact age limits for the ban, he mentioned he was considering a range between 14 and 16 years old.
Albanese expressed concern regarding the effects of cyberbullying on children’s mental health, as well as their easy access to harmful content on social media.
This initiative follows a July request from Australia’s eSafety regulator for internet companies to develop an enforceable code on preventing children from accessing pornography and other inappropriate materials, or they would face the imposition of a government-mandated code.
Several countries have attempted to restrict minors from using social media; however, legal challenges and technologies like virtual private networks (VPNs) that mask users’ locations have complicated government efforts.
“This is a global issue that governments worldwide are trying to address… we understand that it’s not straightforward or simple; if it were, governments would have acted sooner,” Albanese commented.
