Australia passed a social media ban for minors under the age of 16 on Thursday, November 26th, setting a precedent with one of the toughest laws against big tech corporations and social media. The social media ban will impose fines of $32 million on apps that fail to comply.
Some of the social media platforms that fall under the new law are Instagram and Facebook, TikTok, and X. A trial of methods to ensure they comply with the law will start in January 2025.
This bill sets up Australia as a pioneer, and perhaps an example to governments that plan to legislate against social media platforms, and enforce bans of their own as they attempt to safeguard the mental health of their younger population.
France and some U.S. States have passed similar social media bans to the one passed by Australia
France and some states in the U.S. have also imposed social media bans of their own for minors, forcing minors to get their parent’s permission to gain access to social media platforms.At the moment, a full ban on social media for minors under 14 is being fought in court under free speech grounds in the state of Florida.
Australia’s social media ban was a challenge for center-left prime minister Anthony Albanese, as he faced opposition from lobbyists and some child groups. However, despite this opposition the latest polls showed almost 77 percent of Australia’s population was in favor of imposing the ban.
Children under 16 will be banned from social media under Australia’s new laws.
It would be one of the world’s strictest social media controls — but is it feasible? @Ben_Westcott with more https://t.co/qy02kbVwrK pic.twitter.com/tLWOUuMhGz
— Bloomberg (@business) November 28, 2024
Throughout the process of passing the bill in 2024, the Australian parliament heard evidence from the families of minors who had self-harmed due to social media bullying and harassment.
The ban could cause tension with Tech giants like Meta and Elon Musk’s X
Some claim that the social media ban could have a negative impact on the relationship between Australia and the United States, which is a key ally for the country.
Indeed, X owner Elon Musk already commented on the ban saying that it seemed like a “backdoor way to control access to the Internet by all Australians”.
Additionally, the social media ban further strains Australia’s relationship with social media platforms. The country had already made them pay media outlets royalties for publishing their content, and will now prospectively charge millions of dollars if they fail to comply with the new regulation.
Social media platforms have called for the ban to be postponed until the age verification system has been tested, as it has not yet been tried. Crucially, however, YouTube will be exempted from the ban because the platform is widely used in schools.