The Australian government has proposed legislation setting a minimum age for children to access social media, citing mental and physical health risks.
Australia's prime minister, Anthony Albanese, stated that his administration would conduct an age verification experiment before enacting legislation.
“I want to see kids off their devices and onto the footy fields and the swimming pools and the tennis courts,” Albanese said.
“We want them to have real experiences with real people because we know that social media is causing social harm.”
The measure will add Australia to the list of countries imposing age restrictions on social media.
In June, Australia's internet regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, stated that "restriction-based approaches may limit young people's access to critical support" and push them to "less regulated non-mainstream services".
The suggestion follows South Australia's plan to limit social media access to those aged 14 and up.
Peter Malinauskas, South Australian premier, said the proposal was fuelled by concerns that social media was harming young people and affecting their mental health, leaving parents “almost powerless”.
“The government is now going to step in, we’re going to ban kids from getting access to these accounts,” he said.
“We’re going to ban the social media services from providing access in that first place and where they do it and do it knowingly, they are subject to severe punishment, heavy financial penalties that will act as a major deterrent to ensure this doesn’t occur in the future.”
Malinauskas said the proposed regulation put “a positive obligation and duty” on social media companies to ensure children under 14 cannot access such platforms.
“That positive duty and obligation doesn’t just extend to prevent individual children from getting access to the platform but creates a systemic responsibility on the social media platforms to ensure they are undertaking all reasonable steps to prevent children from getting access,” he said.
If passed, the legislation will require social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent access by any South Australian child under the age of 14.
They would also have to ensure teens aged 14–15 could only access platforms with parental content.
A state regulator would oversee the bans and limited access, monitoring compliance and imposing punishments such as warnings, infringement notices, and fines, as well as court actions imposing corrective orders or civil penalties.
A regulator or parents may also take legal action against providers on behalf of a child who has experienced substantial mental or physical harm.
The proposed prohibition also includes "exemptions" for useful or low-risk social media services, such as educational portals.
