Australian states back national plan to ban children younger than 16 from social media

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Australia's states and territories unanimously backed a national plan to require most forms of social media to bar children younger than 16. Leaders of the eight provinces held a virtual meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to discuss what he calls a world-first national approach that would make platforms including X, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook responsible for enforcing the age limit. “Social media is doing social harm to our young Australians,” Albanese told reporters. “The safety and mental health of our young people has to be a priority.” The government leaders had been discussing for months setting a limit, considering options from 14 to 16 years of age. While Tasmania would have preferred 14, the state was prepared to support 16 in the interests of achieving national uniformity, Albanese said. The legislation was introduced into Parliament, and the age ban will take effect a year after it passes into law, giving platforms time to work out how to exclude children. The government has yet to offer a technical solution. The delay is also intended to allow time to address privacy concerns around age verification. The main opposition party has given in principle support to the 16-year age limit since it was announced, suggesting the legislation will pass the Senate. More than 140 academics with expertise in fields related to technology and child welfare signed an open letter to Albanese last October opposing a social media age limit as “too blunt an instrument to address risks effectively.” Critics say most teenagers are tech-savvy enough to get around such laws. Some fear the ban will create conflicts within families and drive social media problems underground. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, argues that stronger tools in app stores and operating systems for parents to control what apps their children can use would be a “simple and effective solution.” This article was provided by The Associated Press.