"As of December 10, younger teenagers in Australia can no longer make accounts on popular-social-media sites, including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Reddit, and Twitch. The minister for communications' rule for the ban defines a social-media site as one that primarily exists to encourage interaction among users and allow them to post their own content. Social-media companies are required to make "reasonable" efforts to keep people under 16 off of their apps, and they face hefty financial penalties for noncompliance."
"The government's argument for the ban has been clear: Getting kids off of social media will make them healthier and happier. Explaining the law in a June speech, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant mentioned many of the things parents worry about their kids encountering online—grooming, cyberbullying, graphic violence, sexualized chatbots, deepfake revenge porn. She also spoke to a more general dread about what social media may be doing to young people."
Australia implemented a nationwide ban preventing people under 16 from creating accounts on defined social-media platforms. Platforms that primarily encourage interaction and user-generated content must make reasonable efforts to exclude under-16s and face heavy fines if they fail. The current definition excludes some services with social features. The policy rationale emphasizes child safety and mental health, citing dangers such as online grooming, cyberbullying, graphic violence, sexualized chatbots, and deepfake revenge porn. Officials also raise concerns about algorithmic manipulation and predatory design features that encourage compulsive usage. Other countries are considering similar age-gating approaches.
Read at The Atlantic
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