In Australia, the use of social media is now completely banned for children under the age of 16. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made an important announcement on Thursday, in which he said that the Australian government is going to introduce a new law, under which children under the age of 16 will no longer be able to use social media platforms. This decision has been taken to improve the mental and physical health of children, as they can be harmed by the side effects of social media.
Children are being harmed by social media
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese justified this decision during the news conference and said that social media platforms are having a negative impact on children. He also said that the time has come for the government to take strict action on this issue, so that children can be protected from mental and physical harm. He believes that spending excessive time on social media is increasing lack of self-worth, anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems in children. Albany emphasized that this law to prevent the use of social media for children under the age of 16 will be introduced in Parliament this year and after its passage, it will be implemented within 12 months. He also clarified that even those children who want to use social media with the consent of their parents will not be allowed.
Responsibility of social media platforms
According to this decision, it will be the responsibility of social media companies to take appropriate steps to prevent children from accessing their services. Parents or children will not be given any responsibility to implement this rule. This means that social media companies will have to ensure that children under the age of 16 cannot login to their platforms and their data is kept safe. The Prime Minister said that social media companies should prepare in advance to prevent children from accessing social media, so that this law can be followed as soon as it comes into force. In this, the platforms will have to update their policies and technology, so that they can identify the age of children and ban them.
Which social media platforms will be banned?
This law will have the biggest impact on those social media platforms, which are very popular among children these days. These mainly include Meta’s platforms Facebook and Instagram, ByteDance’s TikTok, and Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter). Apart from this, Alphabet’s YouTube can also come in this list. Although the video content on YouTube is mostly for children 13 years and above, it can also be brought under scrutiny under this policy. So far there has been no official response from these companies on this decision, but it will be seen how they will follow this new policy.
Australia’s move and policies of other countries
Australia’s move has emerged as the strictest policy regarding social media use for children. Earlier, many other countries have also taken steps to keep a close eye on children’s social media use. For example:
– France proposed a ban on social media for people under the age of 15 last year.
– In the US, social media platforms have been instructed to seek parental permission for children under the age of 13, so that the data of children remains safe and a safe online environment can be ensured for them.
But, Australia’s move is the strictest, because here the use of social media for children will be completely banned. The government has decided that social media is hindering the mental and physical development of children, and now it needs to be controlled.
Impact on social and mental health
This move symbolizes the priority given to the mental health of children in Australia. Children spending excessive time on social media reduces their physical activities, which can increase obesity and other health problems. Apart from this, problems like sense of comparison, negative comments and cyberbullying on social media can affect children mentally. Therefore, the Australian government has decided that the use of social media is emerging as a major threat to children, and concrete steps will be taken to stop it.
This decision of Australia is an important step towards creating a safe and healthy environment for children. This step is a necessary initiative towards protecting children from the ill effects of social media, improving their mental health and motivating them to stay active in their real life. Although this may be a big change for social media companies and users, it is a step towards a healthy and safe online environment.
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