Australia plans legislation to restrict children from using social media

The potential minimum age limit could be 16

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the move on Tuesday

Australia plans to introduce federal legislation this year to restrict children from using social media, with a potential minimum age limit set as high as 16. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the move on Tuesday, emphasizing the need to curb the growing negative impact of social media on young people’s mental health.

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Albanese described social media as a “scourge” affecting children and pledged to get kids off their devices and back into physical activities. “I want to see kids off their devices and onto the footy fields, swimming pools, and tennis courts,” he said, as quoted by India Today, stressing the importance of real-world experiences over virtual interactions.

The exact age limit for logging into platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok has not yet been finalized, but it is expected to fall between 14 and 16 years old. Albanese expressed a personal preference for the higher age limit of 16.

The prime minister also announced that age verification trials will be conducted in the coming months. However, analysts have expressed skepticism about the technical feasibility of enforcing an online age limit effectively.

Albanese reiterated the government’s commitment to addressing the mental health consequences linked to social media use among young people, stating, “We know that social media is causing social harm.”