Australia’s government says it will introduce “world-leading” legislation to ban children under 16 from social media.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said proposed laws to be introduced into Parliament next week aim to reduce the “harm” social media is causing to Australian children.

“This is for moms and dads… they, like me, are concerned about the safety of our children online. I want Australian families to know that the government has your back,” he said.

Although many details remain to be debated, the government said the ban would not apply to youth already on social media.

No relaxation in age limit will be given to children who have the consent of their parents. The government says the onus will be on social media platforms to show they are taking appropriate steps to prevent access.

Albanese said there would be no penalties for users, and it would be up to Australia’s online regulator – the eSafety Commissioner – to enforce the laws.

This law will come into force 12 months after it is passed and will be reviewed after implementation.

While most experts agree that social media platforms can harm teens’ mental health, many are divided on the effectiveness of trying to outlaw them all together.

Some experts argue that the ban only delays youth access to apps like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook rather than teaching them how to navigate complex online spaces.

previous attempts Others, including the European Union, have largely failed or faced a backlash from tech firms in restricting access. And the question is how the implementation would work, given that tools exist that can circumvent age-verification requirements.

One of Australia’s largest advocacy groups for child rights has criticized the proposed ban as “too blunt a tool”.

In an open letter sent to the government in October, signed by more than 100 academics and 20 civil society organisations, the Australian Child Rights Taskforce called on Albanese to consider implementing “safety standards” on social media platforms.

The group also pointed to UN advice that “national policies” designed to regulate online spaces should aim to “provide children with the opportunity to benefit from connecting to digital environments and ensure their safe access to them” Should be”.

but others grassroots campaigners The Australian government has lobbied for the laws, saying the restrictions are needed to protect children from harmful content, misinformation, bullying and other social pressures.

A petition by the 36Months initiative, which has over 125,000 signatures, argues that children up to the age of at least 16 “are not yet ready to safely navigate online social networks”, and are currently “highly “Social media use is placing young minds within a critical window psychologically.” “Evolution causes an epidemic of mental illness”.

Asked whether there should be wider efforts to educate children about the benefits of being online and how to deal with the risks, Albanese said such an approach would be inadequate because it “assumes unequal power relations”.

“I don’t know about you, but I get stuff on my system that I don’t want to see, let alone a vulnerable 14-year-old kid,” he told reporters Thursday.

“These tech companies are incredibly powerful. There are algorithms in these apps that steer people toward a certain behavior.”