Australia Plans to Ban Kids From Social Media

Some Aussie kids may soon see their social media use curtailed, with the announcement that lawmakers Down Under are planning to introduce an age minimum for those who want to check out Instagram, Snapchat, and the like. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday that his government would be test-driving technology before the end of the year that would prevent kids from opening up their own accounts, with the age minimum expected to fall somewhere between 14 and 16, reports the AP.

• Albanese: The prime minister called social media a "scourge" and "social harm" and cited the "mental health consequences" that young people can suffer online, especially from bullying. He added, per Reuters: "I want to see kids off their devices and onto the [soccer] fields and the swimming pools and the tennis courts." Albanese re-upped his remarks on X, noting, per the New York Times: "It's about supporting parents and keeping kids safe."

• The numbers: Reuters notes that Australia boasts "one of the world's most online populations," with 80% of its population regularly checking out their feeds. Per a recent University of Sydney study, 75% of kids ages 12 to 17 had partaken in YouTube or Instagram.
• Precedence: If the ban goes through, Australia would become one of the first governments to impose such an age restriction on social media. In the US, Florida has already banned kids under 14 from the privilege.
• 'Knee-jerk move': Not everyone is cheering the idea, with one expert telling Reuters that the ban for younger kids could "potentially [drive] them to lower-quality online spaces." Another tells the AP that the proposed ban is "problematic" and "a very blunt instrument that's going to potentially exclude children from some very, very helpful supports on social media."
• Social media's take: YouTube and TikTok have so far stayed mum on the subject, but Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, noted that "instead of just cutting off access," it would rather boost appropriate content for kids and offer tools to parents to keep tabs on that content, per Reuters.

(More Australia stories.)