Australia is banning the use of social media by people under 16

According to Reuters, a new Australian law forces tech giants, from Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram) to TikTok, to stop minors from logging into their platforms. If they do not restrict access, they face fines of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million). The first tests on methods of enforcing them will begin in January 2025, but the ban itself will come into force in a year.

The law on the minimum age for social media users sets Australia as a test example for other countries. These steps come amid growing concerns about their impact on young people's mental health.

As Reuters notes, France and some states USA have passed laws restricting access by minors without parental consent, but the Australian ban is absolute. There is a total ban on social media access for people under 14 in Florida, but it is being challenged in court under free speech laws.

The ban has been met with opposition from privacy advocates and some children's rights groups, but according to the latest polls 77 percent were in favor of it. population. The passage of the bill on the last day of the parliament session is a success for center-left Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who faces elections next year and the latest polls were unfavorable.

The act was preceded by a parliamentary inquiry, conducted throughout 2024, in which parents of children who self-harmed as a result of online violence submitted their statements. Interestingly, the ban was also supported by domestic media, led by News Corp. owned by Rupert Murdoch, the country's largest publisher, with its “Let them be children” campaign.

However, as Reuters notes, the ban may strain Australia's relations with its key ally, the United States. It's about the growing stature of X CEO Elon Musk, who said in a post earlier this month that the Australian ban appears to be “a gateway to controlling internet access for all Australians.”

A spokesman for Meta said the Facebook owner complied with Australian law but was “concerned” about the process that “rushed through legislation without properly taking into account evidence of what the industry is already doing to ensure age-appropriate experiences, and the voices of young people.”

Our task now is to ensure that there is a productive consultation on all the rules introduced by the Bill to ensure a technical solution that does not place any burden on parents and teenagers, and a commitment that the rules are consistently applied across all social media applications used by teenagers. – said Meta's spokesman.

“Things are happening in the wrong order,” said Sunita Bose, managing director of the Digital Industry Group, which owns most of the social media companies. “We have the Act, but we have no guidance from the Australian government on the appropriate methods that providers of services subject to the Act will have to use,” Bose added in an interview with Reuters.

Critics of the new law, including young people and scientists, warned that the ban could cut off young excluded people, including those from the LGBTQIA community and teenage migrants, from online support groups. The Australian Human Rights Commission said the bill could violate young people's rights by disrupting their ability to participate in society.