Australia to ban children from using social media | BBC News

Australia is to ban children from using social media the legislation will impose and enforce a minimum age to use platforms like Facebook and Instagram by the end of the year although the exact age hasn't yet been revealed the government is Consulting on settling it between the ages of 14 and 16 here's prime minister Anthony albanesi explaining his reasoning I want to say kids off their devices and under the footy fields and the swimming pools and the tennis courts uh we want them have real experiences with real people because we know that social media is causing

social harm this is a Scourge we know that there is uh mental health consequences uh for what uh many of uh the young people have had to deal with uh The Bullying that can occur online uh the access to material uh which causes social harm well our corespond and Sydney Filmer me more course we heard there from the Australian prime minister Anthony albanesi he doesn't want an Australian child's best friend to be a device he wants them out on the football field or playing netball on a court so what his government is proposing that before

the next election which is due before May of next year he wants to bring in new legislation that would set a minimum age for children to access social media he hasn't said uh how young an Australian would have to be or how old they would have to be in order to uh set up an account it's likely to be somewhere between 14 and 16 years of age the prime minister is favoring the upper level in that age range but many unanswered questions remain how would this be enforced we know that facial recognition and age verification

software will be tried in this country ahead of any uh specifics relating to this legislation so essentially Anthony albanesi the Prime Minister wants to clamp down on young people's use of social media because he says that parents are worried sick about what their experiences might be and at the moment that there is already supposed to be uh an age limit imposed by people like Facebook and Instagram who want users to be I think at least 13 years old but the question is going to be partly around enforcement and personal Liberty and freedom I guess well

this debate is ongoing not in Australia but as you say right around the world um how much um time on advice is good and what should young people be consuming now people who are concerned about Australia's rush to impose a minimum age say that essentially it would deprive um Australian Children of the benefits of social media for many young people uh they happily use social media as a way to connect with their friends to uh be educated and informed and what some critics of the Prime Minister want is not this Sledgehammer approach to imposing a

minimum age but more work to be done to make the internet more appropriate and accessible for children so it is a massive debate in this country and the government is promising to bring in new laws by the end of the year so it is very much in a hurry in this regard Phil Mercer there for as