Australia to ban children under 16 from social media: PM

The Australian government will legislate a ban on social media for children under 16, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Thursday. This is part of a world-leading package of measures that could become law by late next year.

Australia is trialing an age-verification system to block children from accessing social media platforms. This is one of several measures that include some of the toughest controls imposed by any country to date.

"Social media is doing harm to our kids and I'm calling time on it," Albanese said during a news conference.

Albanese cited the risks to children's physical and mental health from excessive social media use, particularly the impact on girls from harmful depictions of body image, and the misogynistic content targeted at boys.

"If you're a 14-year-old kid getting this stuff, at a time when you're going through life's changes and maturing, it can be really difficult. What we're doing is listening and then acting," he added.

While several countries have proposed legislation to limit children's social media use, Australia's policy is one of the most stringent.

No jurisdiction has yet attempted to enforce a social media age cut-off using age verification methods like biometrics or government-issued IDs, two of the methods currently being trialed in Australia.

The country's other world-first proposals include the highest age limit set by any nation, with no exemption for parental consent and no exemption for pre-existing accounts.

Legislation will be introduced into the Australian parliament this year, with laws set to take effect 12 months after being ratified, Albanese confirmed.

The opposition Liberal Party has expressed support for the ban.

"There will be no exemptions for children with parental consent or those who already have accounts," Albanese emphasized. "The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access. The onus won't be on parents or young people."

"What we are announcing here and what we will legislate will be truly world-leading," said Communications Minister Michelle Rowland.

Rowland noted that platforms affected would include Meta's Instagram and Facebook, Bytedance's TikTok, Elon Musk's X, and likely Alphabet's YouTube.

The Digital Industry Group, representing major tech companies like Meta, TikTok, X, and Google's parent company Alphabet, expressed concerns, saying the measure could push young people towards darker, unregulated parts of the internet while cutting off access to support networks.

"Keeping young people safe online is a top priority ... but the proposed ban for teenagers to access digital platforms is a 20th-century response to 21st-century challenges," said DIGI Managing Director Sunita Bose. "Rather than blocking access through bans, we need a balanced approach to create age-appropriate spaces, build digital literacy, and protect young people from online harm."

Last year, France proposed a ban on social media for users under 15, though parental consent was allowed to bypass the ban. In the U.S., for decades, technology companies have been required to seek parental consent before accessing the data of children under 13, which has led to most social media platforms banning users under that age.