Australia passes law to ban the use of Social Media for Minor below 16

The Australian Parliament has passed a law banning children under 16 years from using social media such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. The law provides a fine of up to Australian $ 50 million (US$32.5 million) on social media platforms if they fail to stop minors below 16 years of age from logging in on their platform.

The law will not be implemented immediately, as the government has to work out the details. It is expected to come into force in a year, but the government intends to start the trial of the enforcement methods in January of next year.

Australia is the first country in the world to impose a blanket ban on the use of social media by children under 16 years of age.

The  Australian law comes at a time when there is increasing concern across the world about social media platforms, their addictive features and their role in teens' mental health crises. 

The Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese supported the legislation and said that social media was  “a platform for peer pressure, a driver of anxiety, a vehicle for scammers and, worst of all, a tool for online predators”.

Australia First Country in the World 

Australia is the first country in the world to impose a blanket ban on the use of social media by children under 16.

In many countries of the world, minors are allowed to use social media with the necessary consent from thier parents.

The 27-member European Union permits the use of social media by minors under 16 years old with the consent of their parents. However, the European Union permits its member countries to lower the parental consent to 13 years,

In France, parental consent is mandatory for minors below 15 years.

In Germany, minors between 13 and 16 years old are allowed to use social media only with their parents' consent.

Florida, a state in the United States, has passed a law banning the use of social media by minors under 14 years of age. However, the law has been challenged in court and is yet to be enforced.

Status in india 

There is no specific law in the country that regulates minors' use of social media. 

However, the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Ac 2023 requires verifiable consent from a legal guardian by the social media platform to process data on children under 18. 

Social media’s self-regulation 

Certain social media platforms, such as Facebook, Snapchat, and TikTok, restrict access to their sites to minors under 13 years of age.

However, it is virtually impossible to enforce the regulations. 

Children can circumvent the ban by using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) and faking their age to log on to these sites.

Many people oppose the law because it violates freedom of speech and the right to privacy.