Social media platforms have a year to figure out how to keep kids off their sites after Australia approved a ban for children under 16.
It’s the joint highest age limit of any country in the world, and applies to X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Reddit – but YouTube escapes unscathed.
The country’s parliament approved the legislation, which aim to curb the negative impact of social media on children’s physical and mental health.
Despite X owner Elon Musk criticising the ban as ‘a backdoor way to control access to the Internet by all Australians’, the measure is widely supported.
More than 77% of Australians back the ban, according to a YouGov poll released on Tuesday.
It also received cross-party support, being introduced by the Labor government of Anthony Albanese with the backing of the opposition Liberal party.
‘There is a feeling amongst the majority of Australians that social media does more harm than good’, Rob Nicholls, a senior research associate at the University of Sydney, told NBC News.
A similar ban could be introduced in the UK, where the government is considering supporting a private members’ bill introduced by Labour backbencher Josh McAlister.
Should the UK ban social media for under 16s?
It would likely raise the age at which internet companies can collect children’s data from 13 to 16.
This would bring the UK in line with Ireland and Spain, which, now with Australia, share the top spot for highest social media age limit.
Some countries have a lower limit of 13. This includes England, Wales, New Zealand, Italy, France and the Netherlands.
In China, under-18s require parental consent to join social media.
Why is there so much opposition to children being on social media?
Even young people appear to back tighter controls on the social media use, which half of them say they can’t control, according to a survey by the charity Stem4.
Around 86% of people aged between 12 to 21 are highly concerned about the negative impact of social media on their physical and mental health, the study released in September revealed.
Of particular concern are scams and fraud, cyber bullying, inappropriate sexual contact, and trolling. Sometimes the effects can be fatal.
Mia Janin, 14, killed herself in 20212 after fellow pupils at her London school posted negative comments and shared her TikTok video in a group chat where they also shared fake nude images of other girls.
‘Depraved’ catfish Alexander McCartney, 26, posed as a teenage girl to befriend a least 70 young girls on Snapchat, encourage them to engage in sex acts, and blackmail them with the images.
One of the Northern Irish man’s victims, 12-year-old Cimarron Thomas, from West Virginia, killed herself as a result of his threats.
Her dad took his own life 18 months later, leading Mr McCartney to plead guilty to manslaughter.
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