Australia's social media ban for children under sixteen
Australia has banned children under sixteen from using social media. Australia is the first country in the world to have such a ban. The new legislation was passed in the House of Representatives with overwhelming support (102 votes to 13). The Senate too approved the ban by 34 votes to 19. The new law makes social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars if they fail to prevent children below sixteen from holding accounts. The ban, however, does not include YouTube. Social media platforms now have one year to work out how to implement the ban before penalties are enforced. Interestingly, neither underage users nor their parents will face punishment for violations. Mr. Albanese admits that he expects some kids to find workarounds, but he wants to send a message to social media companies to clean up their act. Implementing this ban will be tricky and social media companies are yet to come ...