While teenagers in America are concerned about the TikTok ban, teens in Australia are getting banned from all social media apps. The Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, is concerned about the negative affects social media has, especially on young children. This legislation is not the first of its kind, however the minimum age set is the highest in any other country. It also has no exceptions, even for existing users and children with parental consent, making it one of the strictest internet laws in the world.
How is this ban going to be enforced? Well, while the ban should take up to a year to be in full effect, tech companies could be fined up to 50 million dollars if they don’t comply. There is also an eSaftey commissioner who is responsible for enforcing these rules. The government is looking at options for age-verification technology that social media apps will have to apply. There is no guarantee these technologies will work, or that certain applications, like VPN’s, won’t be able to get around them. And as of now, there is no talk about penalties for children who get around this ban.
Which platforms will be banned? That decision hasn’t been made yet; however, it has said that it will include Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X, all the main platforms that teens would use. Gaming and messaging platforms will probably not be affected by this ban, as well as platforms you don’t need an account to access, like YouTube.
The big question is why are they banning it? It’s not imperceptible the negative impacts social media has on anyone, but with young minds in their development, these negative impacts can be detrimental. Children, especially those of that age, are very impressionable and access to social media makes it extremely easy to fall upon unhealthy influences and negative social pressures. Parents are concerned about allowing their children on social media for these reasons, but they also don’t want them to feel socially isolated and different from their peers.
This legislation has the support of many parents and caregivers in Australia, but youth and certain organizations are not happy about this ban. Youth feel their voice isn’t being heard in this debate, that the government doesn’t understand how social media can be someone’s safe harbor or a place of support. Some platforms, like X, question its lawfulness. Regardless of the beliefs surrounding this ban, it’s being presented as the government looking out for its citizens, both parents and youth. Which could be seen as a positive action.
