Social media for under-16s to be banned in Australia
Under-16s in Australia will be banned from using many major social media websites from 10th December. These include TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and Threads. They will be unable to set up a new account and will be required to deactivate existing profiles. The ban, according to the BBC, is “being watched closely by other countries.”
The government says it wants to reduce the negative impact of the “design features that encourage” young people “to spend more time on screens, while also serving up content that can harm their health and wellbeing.”
A study commissioned by the Australian government earlier this year found that 96% of children between 10 and 15 years of age used social media. Seventy percent of them, it found, had been exposed to harmful content, including violence and misogyny, and content which promoted eating disorders and suicide. A seventh, it found, reported grooming behaviour from adults or older children, and over half reported to have been a victim of cyberbullying.
Ten social media platforms would be covered by the ban. These are Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit, and streaming platforms Kick and Twitch.
The government uses three criteria to assess a website, whether its sole or “significant purpose” is to enable social interaction online between two or more users, whether it allows users to interact with some or all others, and whether it allows posting of material by users.
YouTube Kids, Google Classroom, and WhatsApp do not meet these criteria and so are not covered by the legislation. Content can still be viewable by under-16s on platforms which do not require an account.
Some have called for the ban to also extend to online gaming websites.
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