This idea of setting a minimum age is based on protect the mental health of children and adolescentslimiting the negative impact that networks generate. It also seeks to allow parents a greater control over access that their children have to digitality.
However, as they announced, if the law is approved, minors under 16 years of age they could keep their accounts if they get the parental consentor if they already had them before the law came into force.
In these particular cases they officially confirmed that no sanctions will be imposed neither to minor users, nor to parents who allow the use of platforms.
This legislative proposal could be put to a parliamentary vote in the coming weeksand establishes a grace period of twelve months for its implementation after its approval.
What the Prime Minister said
The Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, explained that this initiative seeks “limit the negative impact of networks on mental health of adolescents and allow parents greater control over their children’s access to digital platforms.
“Social networks They are harming our children and I am going to put an end to it,” he declared during a press conference in the city of Canberra.
Albanese considers that this legislation “It is a necessary step in the face of growing evidence of adverse effects on the well-being of young people.
On the other hand, he stressed that once the norm was approved, “Parents will be able to tell their children that the use of social networks is against the law”.
The commitment of the platforms
The authorities confirmed that the greatest responsibilities for enforcing the law will fall directly on digital platforms, as they must implement age verification measures.
To ensure that all networks comply with regulationswill be the Australian Electronic Safety Commission the one in charge of establishing guidelines and demanding reasonable measures from social networks and digital applications.
If definitively approved, social networks such as instagram, TikTok, Facebook, x and YouTubewill become legally supervised.
According to what they indicate, only those platforms considered “low risk”where the exposure to harmful content be much smaller.
Legislative background
Australia expands the list of countries that had to adapt to the modern world with regulatory measures for social networks. There are already several who have adopted or are considering age restrictions on social networks.
In Spain, The current minimum age is 14 yearsalthough it is planned raise it to 16 to prevent privacy issues, harassment and digital manipulation.
In Puerto Rico There is also a minimum age of 18 years, which was determined in July of this year. This measure follows the line of Texas and Florida in USAwhere the base ages are 18 and 14 years oldrespectively.
In addition, New York passed laws requiring parental consent for minors under 18 years of age to use networks with recommendation algorithms and limit the collection of data from young users.
Source: Ambito
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