Canberra, Australia — “In one week, Australia will become the first country in the world to ban under 16s from having social media accounts.”
This is what Australia’s Communications Minister Anika Wells proudly declared, as the country prepares to roll out its nationwide social media ban for children under 16 starting next week.
Beginning December 10, notable platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, YouTube, and X among others will be required to block anyone under the age of 16 from creating or keeping an account.
This measure is under Australia’s Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill of 2024.
Based on the data shared by the Australian government, almost 86% of children aged 8 to 15 use social media.
Wells said this law is the catalyst to protect the well-being of young Australians from what they call an online “purgatory” driven by predatory and addictive algorithms, such as threat from online pornography and cyberbullying.
“With one law, we can protect Generation Alpha from being sucked into purgatory by predatory algorithms described by the man who created the feature as behavioral cocaine,” Wells emphasized.
However, apps designed for children, like YouTube Kids and educational tools such as Google Classroom, are not included in the restriction.
If failed to comply, social media companies will be potentially penalized instead if they let minors slip through their applications.
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Australia, however, said that simply shutting out these young Australians won’t fix the deeper problems.
“While it’s great that we’re talking more about improving the online world for young people, UNICEF Australia thinks that the proposed changes won’t fix the problems young people face online,” the agency said.
The agency said social media also offers educational and social value, helping young people stay connected as long as it imposes a much safer environment.
”Social media has a lot of good things, like education and staying in touch with friends. We think it’s more important to make social media platforms safer and to listen to young people to make sure any changes actually help,” it added.
Meta Platform who holds Facebook and Instagram already began shutting down half a million accounts of users today.