Australia Passes World’s First Ban on Social Media for Kids Younger Than 16

Elvis Dunderhoff November 29, 2024

It’s not clear that this actually addresses a root problem.

A lot of right-wingers support this sort of thing, but is it really the government’s job to make these decisions about people’s kids?

You also have to go back to the core principle: no democracy government ever did anything good for anyone.

CNN:

Australia’s parliament has passed a world-first law banning social media for children under 16, putting tech companies on notice to tighten security before a cut-off date that’s yet to be set.

The Senate approved the social media ban late on Thursday, the last sitting day of the year, following months of intense public debate and a rushed parliamentary process that saw the bill introduced, debated and passed within a week.

Under the new law, tech companies must take “reasonable steps” to prevent under-age users from accessing social media services or face fines of nearly 50 million Australian dollars ($32 million).

It’s the world’s toughest response yet to a problem that has seen other countries impose restrictions but not hold companies accountable for breaches of a nationwide ban. The ban is expected to apply to Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Reddit and X, but that list could expand.

Wtf is “X”?

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told legislators that “every serious government” was grappling with the impact of social media on young people, and the leaders he’d spoken to had applauded Australia’s initiative on the issue.

“We know that social media can be a weapon for bullies, a platform for peer pressure, a driver of anxiety, a vehicle for scammers. And worst of all, a tool for online predators,” he told Parliament on Monday.

A poll by YouGov conducted this month showed that 77% of Australians support the under-16 ban. The survey was conducted in the second half of this month and sought the views of 1,515 people with a margin of error of 3.2%.

Now the law has passed, consultation is expected to take place before the government sets a switch-off date. After that, all children under 16 with accounts on social media platforms subject to the ban will have them deactivated.

Parents and children won’t be penalized for flouting the ban, but companies will need to show that they’ve taken reasonable steps to keep under-age users off.

See? They’re not even punishing the people who violate the law, they’re just restricting the companies themselves.

It does not seem like a serious thing.

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