The onus will be on the social media company to ensure children under 16 cannot sign up to, or keep using, their platform. “Systemic” breaches by a platform could incur fines of up to $49.5 million.
“I genuinely, honestly, think that we are saving a generation,” Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells said in this masthead on Sunday, adding it would “look really untidy for the next couple of months because all big reforms do”.
Other countries have attempted to limit young people’s exposure to social media harms, but Australia will be the first to enforce a hard ban.
Denmark and Norway are considering barring under-15s, while a French parliamentary inquiry has recommended it.
More than two dozen European ministers last month signed a Denmark-led declaration stating that “effective age verification” is an “essential tool” in mitigating online harm, though they differ on the practical methods and details.
Indonesia this year also flagged its intention to introduce a minimum age but appears to have since shifted its policy emphasis onto parental approvals and better tech company oversight. The Indonesian government has been contacted for clarification.
-with Reuters
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