Social media
Australia plans social media ban for everyone under 16
According to the Australian government’s wishes, young people should only have access to Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat from the age of 16. Some apps are exempt from the planned ban.
A draft bill from the Australian government would ban social media such as Facebook, Tiktok, Instagram and Snapchat for young people under the age of 16. The corresponding legal text was introduced in the Australian Parliament on Thursday and could be passed in the coming weeks, as the Australian news agency AAP reports. Australia would be the first country in the world to introduce a minimum age for access to social media, AAP said.
“Essentially we want young Australians to have a childhood. We want parents to have peace of mind,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said during the debate in Parliament. “We know that social media causes social harm,” Albanese said.
The proposed law is supported by the opposition: they will engage “constructively” with the aim of passing the law in parliament as early as next week, said Liberal Party communications spokesman David Coleman, according to AAP.
Tech companies face high penalties
In the future, the obligation to check the minimum age of users should not fall on parents, but on tech companies and Internet platforms. The draft law provides for penalties of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (around 30.6 million euros) for companies that do not comply with the planned minimum age requirement. Services such as Messenger Kids, WhatsApp, Kids Helpline, Google Classroom and YouTube are exempt from the ban.
dpa
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
