Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised to introduce legislation to ban social media use by children under a certain age, Reuters reported, citing Albanese making the statement during a television interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Albanese said the Australian government would begin testing age verification technology later this year to tackle social media, and while he did not specify a specific age limit, he would like to ban anyone under the age of 14-16 because “we know social media is causing social harm.”
Mehta issued a statement in response to the prime minister’s proposal, pointing out that Facebook and Instagram already have a minimum user age of 13. He also said the companies want to ensure young people can enjoy the benefits of social media through parental control and monitoring, “rather than simply blocking access.”
Lawmakers in the United States and other countries have proposed and tried to implement federal age restrictions on social media access. Last year, Senator Josh Hawley introduced two bills in Congress that would ban social media use by people under the age of 16. Utah also passed a law in 2023 that would require people to provide parental consent and a copy of their ID, as well as enter their date of birth, to access their accounts. The following year, Utah removed the ID requirement.
Social media use has become a larger health issue as experts express concern about its impact on young people’s mental health. An open letter signed by 42 U.S. attorneys general supported a proposal by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to require social media websites to display visible health warnings, similar to the way tobacco companies require health warnings on their product packaging.
