Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced plans to tighten laws prohibiting children under 16 from using social media platforms, citing concerns that the measures have not been fully effective since taking effect on December 10 last year.
Albanese told Parliament on Thursday that the government was considering ways to make the ban stronger. He said on Friday that the government was reviewing whether the laws were “as strong as possible” and whether eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant had “every power at her disposal”, News.Az reports, citing India Today.
Australia was the first country to pass legislation aimed at keeping young people off social media, but observers said the move was now being revisited because evidence showed many underage children were still holding accounts on platforms including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Britain announced last week that it planned to ban children under 16 from a range of platforms to protect them from harmful content and excessive screen time.
Canada, Brazil and Indonesia have introduced legislation or announced age-based restrictions or requirements for children’s access to social media. France, Spain, Denmark, Thailand and South Korea are among countries studying or developing similar measures.
