Australian government confirms it will ban social media for anyone under 16-years-old

The Australian government has announced its pursuing new legislation that would ban social media for anyone that isn't over the age of 16-years-old.

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The announcement was made by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's office, which published a new notice on its website on November 8. The notice states the new Bill is aimed at addressing the online harms of social media on young people and builds upon already existing legislation designed at introducing new criminal penalties for "non-consensual sexual deepfakes." The Australian government's new plan received backing from the National Cabinet last week and will be introduced into Parliament in the coming weeks. The effects of the new legislation will be implemented next year.

Notably, services that provide education and health services won't be included in the new ban, and the eSafety Commissioner, Australia's independent online safety regulator, will oversee the new policies' implementation and regulation. As for what social platforms will be banned for users under the age of 16, the administration named the following platforms: TikTok, Facebook, and X. Moreover, YouTube will also fall under the new guidelines, according to Minister of Communications Michelle Rowland.

"I want parents to be able to say, 'sorry mate, it's against the law for me to get you to do this,'" stated Albanese in a press conference

The Australian government plans to integrate age verification techniques, which will come as automatic age detection. The plan is to use methods such as biometric face analysis, voice analysis, and behavioral data to determine the age of a user.

"We respect any age limitations the government wants to introduce for social media use. However, what's missing is a deeper discussion on how we implement protections, otherwise we risk making ourselves feel better, like we have acted, but teens and parents will not find themselves in a better place.

The research shows parents want to be involved in their teens' online lives and want to have a say in determining what's appropriate for their individual teens. We strongly believe parental approval and age verification at the operating system and app store level will provide a simple and effective solution, while also reducing the burden and privacy risk for parents and teens," wrote Meta in a statement to The Register