Millions of Australian children awakened Wednesdaywith a case of FOMO. That’s because a new law went into effectbarring anyone under 16 from having an account on any of the 10 most popular social media platforms.
The first-of-its-kind policy addresses real and familiar problems. Children hooked by addictive algorithms spend too much time on screens, where they can be exposed to harmful content, including cyberbullying, body image negativity, sexual exploitation and glorification of suicide.
But it’s not clear the ban will be effective or enforceable, and there are other reasons to be skeptical about such a rigid approach.
Australia’s law puts the burden on technology companies to deactivate children’s accounts by using age and identity verification techniques, including facial analysis. The companies will have to do periodic checks for underage users and make reports to the government. They can use techniques such as tracking conversations — for chatter about school life — as well as posting patterns and viewing habits to determine a user’s age.
Children and their parents will not be held liable for accessing banned sites. Most companies grumbled about the new regulations but began deactivating children’s accounts before the law went into effect. Companies not taking “reasonable steps” will be subject to fines up to $32.9 million (in U.S. dollars).
Many Australian teens have already been finding workarounds, such as signing up with new accounts, tricking facial analysis software, using their parents’ IDs and logging in with virtual private networks (VPNs) to disguise their location. One problem with unenforceable laws is they encourage young people to break them — and not take other laws seriously.
While social media’s potential harms are well known, some psychologists counter that online connectivity can be a lifeline — even a lifesaver — for children who are disabled, questioning their sexuality, living in remote areas or suffering from depression. The law also raises valid privacy concerns.
While it’s widely supported by Australia’s public, some parents disagree, saying children should be taught to responsibly manage their own online usage. One option would be letting teens have joint accounts with their parents. And there is a fear that banning children’s access to the most popular sites might push them to the darker, unregulated corners of the web. (The sites covered by Australia’s ban are Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Threads, Reddit, Kick, Twitch and X, formerly Twitter.)
Many countries view what the Aussies are doing as a pilot program worth studying. Malaysia and Indonesia have similar laws pending. The European Commission is working on an age verification mobile app, which Spain, France, Greece, Denmark and Italy are testing. In Washington, a bipartisan group of senators has proposed legislation barring social media for children under 13.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese acknowledges this process won’t be perfect. Ultimately, government policy can never substitute for good parenting.
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