How will Australia’s social media ban for kids under 16 work?

Australia is mulling a ban on children under 16 from social media. The Anthony Albanese-led government introduced legislation into Parliament on Thursday (November 21), saying social media companies could be fined $33 million if they fail to prevent children from accessing their platforms.

Australia’s communications minister Michelle Rowland said the ban would cover social media platforms like TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram. “This bill seeks to set a new normative value in society that accessing social media is not the defining feature of growing up in Australia,” she told Parliament.

Australian Prime Minister Albanese has touted the bill as “world-leading”. He said the proposed law is meant to protect kids from the “harms” of social media.

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Let’s take a closer look.

Australia’s social media ban on teenagers

Australia ’s proposed law provides a “framework” for the ban. The 17-page document was tabled before the Australian Parliament on Thursday.

The ban will apply to all kids below 16, with no exceptions for existing users or those with parental consent, BBC reported citing the bill.

Some companies, such as YouTube, and messaging services like WhatsApp will be exempted from the ban. Access to gaming sites will also not be restricted, reported BBC.

Social media platforms would have one year to work out how to implement the ban on younger children.

It is not yet known how the companies will determine the age of the users.

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Australia’s communications minister Rowland said that social media companies had to be responsible for the “safety and mental health” of Australians.

“The legislation places the onus on social media platforms, not parents or children, to ensure protections are in place,” she said.

Rowland previously told the Parliament that the bill has “robust provisions” to protect the privacy of social media users.

“This is not about government mandating any form of technology or demanding any personal information be handed over to social media companies,” Rowland said, as per Associated Press (AP).

If passed, the ban will come into effect at least 12 months later.

Australian PM Albanese said, “This is a global problem and we want young Australians essentially to have a childhood. We want parents to have peace of mind.”

He earlier said there would be no penalties for the users.

Australia is also planning to prevent kids under 18 from accessing pornography online, the government said in a statement.

How will Australia’s ban work?

The new legislation does not reveal much about how social media companies are expected to enforce the ban.

Last week, the Australian government said that an association led by the British company Age Check Certification Scheme has been tasked with analysing different technologies to estimate and verify ages, as per AP.

The company will report back to the Australian government by the end of next June.

The government has promised to address privacy concerns arising out of the proposed law.

Australia’s internet regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, will chalk out how to implement and enforce the rules.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant admitted the mammoth task on their hands to enforce the ban, given “technology change is always going to outpace policy”.

“It will always be fluid, and this is why regulators like eSafety have to be nimble,” she added.

Debate over the ban

From tech companies to parents, Australia’s proposed ban has evoked mixed reactions.

More than 100 Australian academics have condemned the ban as “too blunt an instrument”, saying it violates the United Nations’ suggestion for governments to ensure “safe access” to digital environments for young people, reported BBC.

Katie Maskiell from UNICEF Australia said the bill would not be a “solve-all” for protecting children, adding much more is needed to be done, reported AFP. She also raised concerns about the ban pushing young people onto “covert and unregulated online spaces”.

The proposed legislation has not won the support of a bipartisan parliamentary committee that has been examining the impact of social media on adolescents. The panel has, instead, called for tightening regulations on tech giants.

Digital Industry Group Inc, a group representing the interests of tech companies in Australia, has described the age limit as “a 20th Century response to 21st Century challenges”.

It said such a ban could push adolescents into “dangerous, unregulated parts of the internet”.

While some parents have supported the ban, others have expressed concerns.

Amy Friedlander, a mother of three from the Wait Mate movement – which encourages parents to delay giving smartphones to their kids, told BBC, “We can’t ignore all the positives that technology has brought into our lives. There are huge upsides, but what we haven’t really considered is the impact it is having on brains which aren’t ready for it.”

There are concerns that the ban would adversely affect vulnerable groups, such as LGBTQ+ or First Nations teenagers, who are more comfortable online.

Joanne Orlando, a researcher in digital behaviour, told BBC that the age restriction “could be part of a strategy, it absolutely can’t be the whole strategy”.

She said “the biggest piece of the puzzle” should be to educate children to develop critical thinking about the content they see online and how they use social media.

With input from agencies