Australia Plans Social Media Ban for Children under 16
2024-11-14
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1The Australian government recently announced plans to ban the use of social media by children under the age of 16.
2Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, "Social media is doing harm to our kids."
3He added that now is the time for the government to intervene.
4The country's Parliament will introduce a new bill during the final two weeks of its meeting starting on November 18.
5The bill will set an age limit of 16 for children to use social media and make the services responsible for enforcement.
6Albanese told reporters that the age limit would take effect 12 months after the bill is passed.
7And social media services, including X, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, would need to use the year to work out how to put age controls in place.
8"I've spoken to thousands of parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles. They, like me, are worried sick about the safety of our kids online," Albanese said.
9The proposal comes at a time when governments around the world are considering ways to control how young people use smartphones and social media.
10Under the Australian proposal, social media companies would face penalties for violating the age limit.
11However, under-age children and their parents would not face penalties.
12Antigone Davis is the head of safety at Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.
13Davis said the company would respect any age limits the government wants to put in place.
14She added that officials need to discuss the ways social media can make the age limit happen.
15She suggested that stronger tools in app stores and computer systems for parents could be a "simple and effective solution."
16X did not immediately answer a request from The Associated Press (AP) for comment.
17TikTok said it would not offer a comment to the AP.
18More than 140 experts in fields related to technology and children signed an open letter to Albanese last month opposing a social media age limit.
19The letter said a ban would not be an effective way to deal with the risks of social media use.
20Sunita Bose is a director at the Digital Industry Group in Australia.
21Bose said in a statement, "Rather than blocking access through bans, we need to take a balanced approach to create age-appropriate spaces, build digital literacy and protect young people from online harm."
22Jackie Hallan is a director at the youth mental health service ReachOut.
23She also opposed the ban. She noted that 73 percent of young people across Australia seeking mental health support get it through social media.
24She added that young people are likely to find ways to use social media even with a ban in place.
25Child psychologist Philip Tam said it would have been easier to enforce the ban for children under the age of 12 or 13.
26Tam said, "My real fear honestly is that the problem of social media will simply be driven underground."
27Prime Minister Albanese said there would be rules to permit social media use in some situations, such as a need to connect with educational services.
28Earlier this year, the government began testing age-restriction technologies among a group of users.
29Officials will use the test results to guide what reasonable steps social media services can take.
30Lawmaker Paul Fletcher said the services already have the technology to enforce such an age ban.
31He added that if the law for controlling social media use is well written, Australia can get the results it wants.
32I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Andrew Smith.
1The Australian government recently announced plans to ban the use of social media by children under the age of 16. 2Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, "Social media is doing harm to our kids." He added that now is the time for the government to intervene. 3The country's Parliament will introduce a new bill during the final two weeks of its meeting starting on November 18. The bill will set an age limit of 16 for children to use social media and make the services responsible for enforcement. 4Albanese told reporters that the age limit would take effect 12 months after the bill is passed. And social media services, including X, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, would need to use the year to work out how to put age controls in place. 5"I've spoken to thousands of parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles. They, like me, are worried sick about the safety of our kids online," Albanese said. 6The proposal comes at a time when governments around the world are considering ways to control how young people use smartphones and social media. 7Under the Australian proposal, social media companies would face penalties for violating the age limit. However, under-age children and their parents would not face penalties. 8Antigone Davis is the head of safety at Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram. Davis said the company would respect any age limits the government wants to put in place. She added that officials need to discuss the ways social media can make the age limit happen. She suggested that stronger tools in app stores and computer systems for parents could be a "simple and effective solution." 9X did not immediately answer a request from The Associated Press (AP) for comment. TikTok said it would not offer a comment to the AP. 10Some groups oppose the age limit 11More than 140 experts in fields related to technology and children signed an open letter to Albanese last month opposing a social media age limit. The letter said a ban would not be an effective way to deal with the risks of social media use. 12Sunita Bose is a director at the Digital Industry Group in Australia. Bose said in a statement, "Rather than blocking access through bans, we need to take a balanced approach to create age-appropriate spaces, build digital literacy and protect young people from online harm." 13Jackie Hallan is a director at the youth mental health service ReachOut. She also opposed the ban. She noted that 73 percent of young people across Australia seeking mental health support get it through social media. She added that young people are likely to find ways to use social media even with a ban in place. 14Child psychologist Philip Tam said it would have been easier to enforce the ban for children under the age of 12 or 13. Tam said, "My real fear honestly is that the problem of social media will simply be driven underground." 15Prime Minister Albanese said there would be rules to permit social media use in some situations, such as a need to connect with educational services. 16Earlier this year, the government began testing age-restriction technologies among a group of users. Officials will use the test results to guide what reasonable steps social media services can take. 17Lawmaker Paul Fletcher said the services already have the technology to enforce such an age ban. He added that if the law for controlling social media use is well written, Australia can get the results it wants. 18I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Andrew Smith. 19Rod McGuirk wrote this story for The Associated Press. Andrew Smith adapted it for VOA Learning English. 20______________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22penalty -n. a punishment for a violation of a rule or law 23access -n. the ability to get to persons, places, or things you want 24appropriate -n. correct or suitable in relation to a person or situation. 25literacy -n. the ability to read and write; having knowledge of a particular subject