The Australian government has proposed social media ban on children under 16. A legislation to this end has been tabled in the lower House of Representatives on Thursday.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Albanese says the ban - which will cover platforms such as X, TikTok, Facebook and Instagram - is about protecting kids from the “harms” of social media.
"This is a global problem and we want young Australians essentially to have a childhood. We want parents to have peace of mind," he said on Thursday.
The ban will apply to all children under 16, according to the bill. The legislation has warned the tech companies will face penalties of up to A$50m if they do not comply with the rules.
While many parents have applauded the move, some experts have questioned whether kids should - or even can - be barred from accessing social media, and what the adverse effects of doing so may be.
Meanwhile, a group representing the interests of tech companies such as Meta, Snapchat and X in Australia has dismissed the ban as “a 20th Century response to 21st Century challenges”.
Reacting to the government's initiative to ban kids from social media, Ms Inman Grant suggests that children should be taught to swim, rather than banning them from the water. “We don’t fence the ocean… but we do create protected swimming environments that provide safeguards and teach important lessons from a young age,” she said. The social media platforms should invest more in educational tools to help young people stay safe online.
Echoing to the initiative, Amy Friedlander, a mother of three from the Wait Mate movement, says, "Despite all the positives, what we have not really considered is the impact it is having on brains which aren't ready for it.
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