Australia is poised to be the first country in the world to impose a minimum social media age of 16 as Labor backs the limit to protect children from online harms. Source: Daily Telegraph.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will call a special national cabinet meeting for Friday where he will ask states and territories to support the proposal endorsed by his cabinet earlier this week. Mr Albanese previously committed to introducing legislation to raise the age by the end of this year, but had not specified a number.
A national age limit of 16 would be a world-first for Australia.
Platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook have a current minimum age of 14, but experts have criticised the tech companies for a lack of enforcement.
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner recently estimated 1.34 million Australian children aged 12 or younger have used social media since the beginning of this year.
Describing the issue as a “national challenge that requires national leadership,” Mr Albanese said his government was “stepping up to deliver”.
Mr Albanese thanked premiers and chief ministers for their “engagement and support”.
Labor’s proposal would put the legal responsibility for enforcing the age limit directly on social media platforms, with no penalties for individuals.
The laws would have at least a 12-month implementation period, which would be informed by an ongoing trial of age assurance technologies the platforms could use to comply with a new age limit.
In July, Opposition leader Peter Dutton committed to legislating a new minimum age for social media to 16 within 100 days of the Coalition winning an election.
FULL STORY
Anthony Albanese ‘calls time’ on social media harms, backs raising minimum age to 16 (By Clare Armstrong, Daily Telegraph)
