Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised to introduce legislation that would prevent children under a certain age from using social media. Reuters reported that Albanese issued his statement in a TV interview on the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC).
Albanese says the Australian government would start its social media initiative by testing age verification technology sometime this year. He also didn’t state a specific age limit but estimated he’d like the ban to be for children younger than 14-16 because “we know that social media is causing social harm.”
Meta issued a statement in response to the PM’s proposal noting that Facebook and Instagram already have a minimum age requirement of 13 years for users. The social media company also noted it wants to empower young people to benefit from social media with parental controls and monitoring “instead of just cutting off access.”
Lawmakers in the US and other countries have suggested and tried to implement a federal age limit on social media access. Last year, US Senator Josh Hawley introduced two bills to Congress that would prohibit teenagers under 16 from using social media. The state of Utah also passed laws in 2023 requiring teens to have parental consent and provide a copy of an ID instead of just inputting their birthday to access their accounts. The following year, Utah repealed the ID requirements.
Social media use has become a greater health issue as experts raise concerns about its effects on younger users’ mental well being. An open letter signed by 42 US attorneys general supported US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s proposal to require social media websites to post visible health warnings the way that cigarette makers are required to do so on their products’ packaging.