Out for two more platformsAustralia tightens social media ban for children
Australia is a global leader in protecting children from social media. From December 10th, Instagram, Facebook or Tiktok will only be allowed to offer an account to those over 16 years old. Two other platforms are now also on the blacklist.
In Australia, the social media ban for children under 16 is being expanded to include two platforms. From December 10th, the Internet forum Reddit and the Australian live streaming platform Kick.com, which competes with Twitch, will also have to adhere to the new legal requirements, said the responsible online security authority eSafety.
This brings the number of affected providers to nine, including Tiktok, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram. Tech companies that do not comply with the requirements and do not implement effective measures face penalties of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (the equivalent of around 28 million euros) for violations.
Online safety advocate Julie Inman Grant said giving young people later access to social media gave them “valuable time” to develop without the “powerful, invisible forces of opaque algorithms and endless scrolling”.
Exceptions for gaming platforms and WhatsApp
Platforms that are not subject to the new age limit from next month must belong to one of the various exemption categories. This includes messaging services, email, voice and video calls, online gaming and educational offerings. Popular gaming platforms such as Roblox and apps such as WhatsApp or Messenger are not covered by the new regulation.
The government in Canberra passed the law a year ago – making Australia a global pioneer. Almost all major parties supported Prime Minister Anthony Albanese‘s initiative. The platforms were given twelve months to implement the new age restriction.
Greece is now also trying to restrict social media for minors, but so far has only been able to come up with an app that sets up control options for parents of underage children. Similar plans are being discussed in other countries, such as Denmark. In Germany there is no general, legally defined minimum age for social media users. Theoretically, the parents of young people under the age of 16 would have to agree to its use – but this is rarely verified, and birth dates can easily be falsified during registration.
