Australia’s historic transfer to ban social media for under-16s is about to take impact on Wednesday. On the identical time, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed belief within the newly launched prohibition and acknowledged that it’ll be certain that kids have a childhood.
IANS reported that Albanese on Tuesday wrote to the leaders of Australia’s states and territories to thank them for his or her assist on the social media ban, acknowledging that the reform would require some adjustment within the quick time period.
“That is the cultural change Australia must ship larger peace of thoughts for folks and guarantee Australian kids have a childhood,” he reportedly wrote.
What Is Australia’s Social Media Ban For Beneath-16s?
Beneath legal guidelines that have been handed by the federal parliament in November 2024, sure social media platforms should take “cheap steps” to forestall kids beneath 16 from having accounts.
Thus far 10 social media platforms have been instructed to implement the ban, they embrace Fb, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X, YouTube, Kick and Reddit.
It’s noteworthy that neither kids nor their mother and father shall be punished for breaching the ban beneath the legal guidelines, with the onus for imposing it positioned solely on social media platforms.
In line with the federal government, the ban is aimed to cut back the unfavourable impression of social media’s “design options that encourage younger folks to spend extra time on screens, whereas additionally serving up content material that may hurt their well being and wellbeing”.
A examine it commissioned earlier in 2025 discovered that 96 per cent of kids aged 10-15 used social media, and that seven out of 10 of them had been uncovered to dangerous content material.
This included misogynistic and violent materials in addition to content material selling consuming problems and suicide.
(with IANS inputs)