Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Thursday that the government will introduce legislation to ban social media use for children under 16, calling it a world-first initiative.
“Social media is harming our kids, and it’s time to put a stop to it,” Albanese stated at a press conference. The legislation is expected to be introduced in parliament this year, with the ban coming into effect 12 months after its passage.
Notably, the policy will apply universally, with no exemptions for parental consent “The responsibility will lie with social media platforms to show they are taking reasonable steps to prevent underage access,” Albanese said.
“Parents or young people won’t bear this burden.”
Anthony Albanese
Communications minister Michelle Rowland specified that the ban would affect platforms including Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, TikTok, and Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter). Google’s YouTube is also likely to be included under the new regulations.
She added that the eSafety commissioner would be able to determine what platforms or activities are low-risk and could be exempt from the ban.
Albanese’s proposal comes after Nova radio personality Michael ‘Wippa’ Wipfli and filmmaker Rob Galluzzo launched 36 Months, a movement aimed at raising the social media citizenship age from 13 to 16.
Wipfli and Galluzzo told Mediaweek earlier this year that the movement isn’t about “banning social media”.
The pro bono social change movement, supported by News Corp Australia and Nova, aims to change federal legislation, by calling on families, community leaders, and educators to sign the 36 Months change.org petition, which will then be presented to parliament.
Galluzzo said: “We are not anti Facebook, and we’re not anti Instagram. This is not an attack on social media. 36 months is very targeted in its ambition.”
That ambition is defined by two phases: “Our first phase is to raise the age threshold of social media citizenship.”
“When we say social media, we mean any social network that encourages interactive engagement through addictive features.”
See also: Wippa and Galluzzo say 36 Months ‘is not an attack on social media’