Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the proposed social media ban for the country’s youth, which has sparked intense debate, raising questions about the balance between protecting children and limiting digital freedoms. File picture: CRIS BOURONCLE / AFP
As a way to protect young children’s mental health, the Australian parliament is proposing a ban on social media for children under the age of 16.
During a news conference held following a National Cabinet Meeting on November 7, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the proposed national social media ban in a message “aimed at mums and dads”, stating that social media was "causing harm to our kids and I'm calling time on it,” ABCNews Australia reported.
The proposed policy is aimed at tackling growing concerns of mental health and the well-being of young Australians, who were increasingly exposed to the pressures and dangers of online platforms at earlier ages.
According to Albanese, the proposed ban meant that there would be an age limit to social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram and the responsibility of enforcing that age limit will be borne by the platforms.
“The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access. The onus won’t be on parents or young people. There’ll be no penalties for users,” said Albanese.
Albanese added that he does not think the ban will fix the problem immediately or be completely effective, however, it will be a step in the right direction.
“We don't argue that the changes that we will be legislating will fix everything immediately," Albanese said.
"We have laws, such as people can't buy alcohol if they're under 18, and from time to time that can be broken, but those laws set the parameters for our society and they assist in ensuring the right outcomes," he added.
This proposed national legislation comes after the push by the South Australian government to ban children under the age of 14 from social media, citing the same reasons which are to protect youth mental health, according to ABCNews Australia.
South Australia Premier, Peter Malinauskas, detailed the proposed legislation back in September, saying, “We are seeing mounting evidence from experts of the adverse impact of social media on children, their mental health and development. I am determined to ensure as a government we are doing everything we can to protect our children.”
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said social media companies would be hit with penalties if they do not co-operate with the ban.
Tech giants TikTok and Snapchat have responded to the announcement by saying that while the ban may protect children from some online harms, it might also drive them to find ways around the restrictions, or push them into dangerous, unregulated and less transparent online platforms.
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