Australia bans social media for kids under 16
India TodayAustralia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, announced on Thursday that the government will introduce legislation to ban children under 16 from using social media platforms. “The onus won’t be on parents or young people.” IMPACT ON MAJOR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS Communications Minister Michelle Rowland clarified that the new regulations would apply to major platforms such as Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, ByteDance’s TikTok, Elon Musk’s X, and likely Alphabet’s YouTube as well. GLOBAL CONTEXT: FRANCE AND THE UNITED STATES Australia’s proposed ban follows similar efforts in other countries to regulate social media use among young people. Morevover,Australia’s move to regulate social media access for minors is part of a broader trend of increasing scrutiny and regulation of the digital space, with a growing focus on safeguarding young people from online harm.