Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese has put out restrictions on social media access for children under 16 to protect young people’s mental health. Companies involved will be fined if they do not enforce the new regulations.
“Social media is harming our children and we want this to end,” Albanese told reporters in Canberra on Thursday, vowing to introduce legislation this month. The burden of proof will be on social media platforms to ensure they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access.
The long-awaited social media age restrictions are part of a series of measures against tech giants by Albanese’s centre-left Labour government. The prime minister has blamed the big tech industry for the rise in disinformation and mental health problems.
Australia has previously targeted big tech companies that run social media sites. In 2021, for example, the country tried to make Facebook and Google pay for news content. Just recently, the government sued a former member of Elon Musk’s team for failing to remove a video of the Sydney terror attack.
Labour is also considering new laws to force social media sites to crack down on misinformation and disinformation on their platforms.
The government said it had consulted with social media companies about age restrictions “through a variety of channels”. But officials did not say which sites the changes would apply to, whether they had received assurances that the bans could come into force or what penalties companies might face.
Albanese said he did not believe the laws would be fully effective or solve the problem immediately, citing alcohol restrictions not helping to prevent underage drinking.
