Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said on Friday he was keen to make sure the country’s social media ban for children was as strong as possible. The ban, which is the first of its kind and now six months old, has had little impact on teen use, according to a new study.
Background
The government plans to stress-test the law, which bans platforms like Meta’s Instagram and Google’s YouTube from giving under-16s accounts. The eSafety Commission, the country’s internet regulator, will be sufficiently empowered to do the job.
A paper published in the British Medical Journal this week said 85% of Australians aged 12 to 15 were still using social media three months after the ban took effect, according to a study of 408 adolescents. Two-thirds of underage users stayed online by self-declaring an age over 16 or posting a selfie that the platform accepted as over 16.
Global Implications
Australia’s groundbreaking experiment is being closely watched with countries around the world seeking to emulate it amid concern about youth mental and physical health. Britain, for example, this month announced planned restrictions that go further as gaming and live-streaming platforms will also be affected.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
