Melbourne: Australia’s Communications Minister Michelle Rowland introduced a bill in Parliament on Thursday to ban the use of social media by children under the age of 16. If the bill becomes law, it will be the first of its kind in the world. Rowland said that ensuring children’s online safety has emerged as a major challenge for parents. He said the bill provides for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars (about 33 million US dollars) for failing to prevent children under the age of 16 from creating accounts on social media platforms, including platforms such as TikTok, Facebook and Snapchat. Includes Reddit, X and Instagram.
The bill has political support
“This bill seeks to establish a new normative principle in society that access to social media is not a defining characteristic of growing up in Australia,” Rowland told parliament. There is widespread belief that immediate action should be taken to prevent children and teenagers from accessing the unlimited “uncut” content available on the Internet. The bill has broad political support. Once the bill becomes law, social media platforms will have one year to implement age restrictions.
Australian Communications Minister Michelle Rowland
Social media can prove harmful
Roland said, “Social media can be harmful to many young people in Australia. Almost two-thirds of Australian children aged 14 to 17 have seen highly harmful material on the internet, including material related to drug abuse, suicide, violence or self-harm. “A quarter of children have seen content that promotes bad eating habits.” Rowland cited government research as saying 95 per cent of Australian parents consider online safety to be the biggest challenge in raising children.
Social media
What did Elon Musk say?
However, Elon Musk, the owner of ‘X’, has questioned the bill. “(This bill) appears to be a behind-the-scenes attempt by Australians to control access to the internet,” he said in a post. Australia is also working on measures to prevent children under the age of 18 from accessing pornographic material available on the Internet, a government statement said. (language)
Also Read:
PM Modi addresses special session of Guyana Parliament, says, ‘This is a matter of sweat and toil’
Major terrorist attack in Pakistan, bullets kept raining; So far 50 people have died
Latest world news