Australia to Debate Internet Ban on Under-16s

Australian MPs on Wednesday approved a bill that aims to ban access to social media for children under 16, which will now be debated in the Senate.

This pioneering legislation, promoted by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, would force platforms such as X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram to take measures to prevent access by children under 16.

Failure to comply with this obligation would result in fines of up to 31 million euros, according to the bill reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Several platforms denounced the "hasty" decision, expressing "serious concerns" about potential "unforeseen consequences".

The bill was approved on Wednesday by 102 votes to 13 in the House of Representatives. It will still have to be debated in the Senate on a date that has not yet been announced.

Ahead of the Australian lawmakers’ vote, Albanese stressed on Wednesday that social media was “a platform for social pressure, a driver of anxiety, a conduit for scammers and, worst of all, a tool for online predators.”

Australia is one of the countries at the forefront of regulating social media to protect children.

The proposed age limit would be one of the strictest measures in the world, but how it will be implemented is still unclear.

The text adopted by lawmakers now prohibits tech giants from requiring new users to provide identification to prove their age.

If the proposed law is passed, tech companies will have one year to enforce it.

Analysts, however, have expressed doubts about the technical feasibility of a strictly age-based ban.

The bill could ultimately result in “symbolic politics,” said Terry Flew, a professor of digital communications at the University of Sydney.

Several countries and territories have already decided to impose a minimum age for accessing platforms.

In the US state of Florida, a law banning minors under 14 from opening accounts is due to come into force in January. However, the practical arrangements have not been determined.

In Spain, the government also presented a bill in June to ban access to social media for minors under 16, although the method of age verification has not been determined. There is no date set for the review of the text.

China, which has restricted access for minors since 2021, requires identification through an identity document. Minors under 14 cannot spend more than 40 minutes a day on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and online gaming time for children and teenagers is limited.