Australia to ban social media for children

No social media until 16 - 23rd September 2024

Australia's government is planning to protect children from social media. It's going to ban children from social media. The government wants to introduce the new law later this year.

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is worried about children's development. He thinks that they spend too much time on social media. He thinks that children should be "off their phones and on the footy field."

But at what age should a child use TikTok or Instagram? The government's still making a decision about this. They say it's somewhere between 14 and 16.

Another problem is how to confirm a child's age. One option's technology which can tell a person's age from their face. But some people don't think that this is reliable. It's also possible to match a person's face with their official ID photo. But some people want a more private, independent solution.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, doesn't think that it should check people's age. It wants the smartphone or tablet to check the user's age.

France and China have limited children's social media use. They try to protect children from dangers online. But they haven't banned children from social media.