The Australian government has unveiled what it labelled as "world-leading" social media ban for anyone under 16.
The government is arguing that exposure to such platforms affects mental and physical health of teens. The depictions of harmful body images and misogynistic content is the reason for such negative effect on children’s health.
According to Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, the excessive usage of social media is dangerous, particularly affecting the young users during their developmental phase.
This ban will cover social media platforms, like Instagram and TikTok, Facebook and X, and potentially YouTube. Australia is also developing an age-verification system using biometrics, and government ID, to enforce the ban.
The legislation which will take some 12 months to come into effect, has been met with some opposition, and criticism. The critics of this ban say that it would only push the young further into the darker recesses of the internet.
However, the government of Australia has ambitions of making this legislation one of the strictest in the world. The government reportedly will continue to have a strong stance without adjusting clauses for parental consent or pre-existing accounts.
Governments worldwide have dividing stance when it comes to social media use by teens. Although, Australia is not the first government to impose such a strict ban. The Swedish Public Health Agency, Folkhälsomyndigheten, on September 4 called for a complete ban on screen time for children below two years. Besides that, it called for great restrictions on-screen usage for both older children and teenagers.
These new recommendations sharply cut from the current average screen time in Sweden, where 9-to-12-year-olds are spending four hours a day on screens, while for those aged 17/18 years, it is over seven hours a day, not counting homework.