Australia Might Ban Social Media for Kids Under 16

Would you support this if it happened here?  And follow-up question:  Would your 14-year-old MURDER you for it?

Australia might ban social media for all kids under 16.  Their parliament plans to vote on the bill later this month.

It was announced yesterday by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.  He said social media is harming our kids, and it’s time to do something about it.  He called it “world-leading legislation.”

It would apply to all the big sites like TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, X, and maybe even YouTube.  Kids and parents wouldn’t get in trouble, just the sites would.  They’d have to take “reasonable steps” to prevent access.

It would go into effect 12 months after the law passes, so late next year.  And parents would NOT be able to opt out.  It would be a full ban.

Some people think it’s a great idea, while others aren’t sure . . .

One advocacy group called it a “20th Century response” to a 21st Century problem.  The director of a mental health group also said it’s risky, because so many young people use social media to access mental health services.

Others think 16 is just too harsh, and 12 or 13 would be better.  But the U.S. already requires a parent’s consent before companies can access data for kids under 13.  So most of the big platforms already have that as their age limit.

Kids get around it by lying about their age when they open an account.  And that’s the other argument . . . it would just push the problem underground.  Kids would still manage to log on, they’d just hide it.

The head of safety at Meta said they’ll respect the law if Australia goes through with it, but that it might just make people “feel better” and not do much.