The way is paved to ban social media for those under 16 years of age in Australia

The Australian Government is determined to ban the access of minors under 16 years of age to social networks in a law that is considered a pioneer in the world. If the rule projected by the Australian executive actually goes ahead, only adolescents who are at least 16 years old will be able to enter 2.0 platforms. And the truth is that such a controversial law has already overcome the first obstacle in parliament.

The Australian House of Representatives has given the green light to the rule, whose ultimate objective is to prohibit minors under 16 years of age from connecting to social networks.. The law has also been approved by a large majority in the Australian parliament. And now it must receive the approval of the Senate, where it will presumably be successful, since most of the parties support the initiative of the Executive led by Anthony Albanese.

Australia is expected to become the first country in the world to introduce a minimum age to access social networks. And as soon as the rule comes into effect, social networks will have a period of one year to implement the new age restriction on their domains.

Social networks are a “scourge” for the youngest, according to the Australian Prime Minister

Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister of Australia, already announced his intention to prohibit access to social networks for those under 16 years of age last September.. At that time Albanese described the harmful effect of platforms such as TikTok, Instagram or Facebook on minors as a “scourge”.

«Social networks cause serious harm to children and prevent them from having real friends and living real experiences»the Australian Prime Minister emphasized a couple of months ago.

Those who view the new rule with a critical eye, however, regret that the legislation could further isolate children and adolescents and deprive them of the overlapping positive effects of social networks. Independent parliamentarian Zoe Daniel assures, for example, that the new legislation will not be able to mitigate the dangers that await the youngest in the bowels of social networks. And he asserts that the true objective of the rule is not to make 2.0 platforms safer, but simply to make voters feel that the Government is doing something in this regard.