The Government of Australia announced Thursday that seeks to limit access to social networks to those under 16 years of age. through a legislative proposal. The objective of this measure is to mitigate mental health problems among children and adolescents.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, who had already announced in September his intention to limit minors’ access to the social networks and other digital platforms, revealed Thursday that the minimum age will be 16 years old.. “This decision was taken on Monday in the Council of Ministers,” he announced at a press conference in Canberra.
“Social networks are harming our children. and I am going to put an end to it,” Albanese stressed. The prime minister has justified his proposal by comparing it to other legal measures such as laws prohibiting those under 18 from buying alcoholic beverages.
The bill, which could reach Parliament in the next few weeks and would come into force twelve months after being approved, will not exclude minors who already have accounts on social networksnor those with parental consent. The President clarified that no sanctions will be imposed on users or parents, and that it will be the responsibility of the owners of the social networks to enforce the age limit.
In addition, the Australian e-Safety Commission will be responsible for issuing regulations for digital platforms to put in place “reasonable measures” to restrict access to minors. “The welfare of children is a collective responsibility.”said the Minister of Communication, Michelle Rowland.
This legislation could affect social networks such as Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, X and YouTube, although exceptions are contemplated for platforms considered “low risk”. According to Rowland, the Australian government has been in contact with the affected companies. during the development of the proposal, which is expected to be contested by companies such as X.
With their plan, Australia echoes global concerns that led to Spain to set the minimum age for accessing a social network at 14 years. It is planned to raise it to 16 here as well, in view of the risks to privacy, coercion, threats and computer fraud.
Also, Puerto Rico decreed in July 18 years of age as the minimum age. for a person to activate an account in any social network. This measure is similar to that of Texas, United StatesIn the case of New York, two laws were passed: one to require parental consent for children under 18 to use “addictive threads” based on recommendation algorithms and another to limit the collection of data from minors.