On the 28th (local time), the australian Parliament passed the world’s first bill to fully ban the use of social media by youth under the age of 16. Social media platforms that do not take sufficient action in this regard could be fined up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (about 45 billion won).
Australia is the first country to fundamentally ban youth use of social media regardless of parental permission, and it is likely to have an impact on youth regulations in other countries. However, there is also criticism that regulations can be bypassed through virtual private networks (vpns), and that it is not reasonable to blindly regulate use while ignoring the harmful content related to youth that abounds online.
According to Reuters, on this day, the Australian Senate, which has 76 seats, voted 34 in favor and 19 against a law banning youth under 16 from creating accounts on major social media such as TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and Reddit from January 2026. It was passed by vote. A day ago,the house of Representatives passed it wiht 102 votes in favor and 13 votes against and submitted it to the Senate,and the bill was finalized with passage in the Senate.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanage, who led the introduction of the bill, emphasized, “Platforms must take social duty to make the safety of children their top priority.” However, YouTube, WhatsApp, etc. were excluded from regulation on the grounds that they could be used for educational and creative purposes.
Previously, the U.S.state of Florida and France also passed laws restricting the use of social media by teenagers of similar age groups. Tho, this differs from Australia in that it recognizes exceptions when the student’s parents consent. The British BBC commented, “Australia has introduced the strictest laws in the world.”
However, there is considerable controversy over the effectiveness of this bill, as the difference between social media included in the sanctions and social media excluded is unclear, several circumvention methods exist, and measures against harmful content are insufficient. Rep. Killea Tink (Independent) pointed out, “If there is damage to the road due to vehicle traffic, repairing it is a priority, but this is like telling children, ‘There are no cars on the road.’”
In particular, if a youth creates an account in violation of this law, the youth and their parents will not be punished. Only the social media in question will have to pay a hefty fine. A considerable amount of controversy is expected because it is a form of virtually all responsibility being placed on private companies.
Prime Minister Albanian, a member of the centre-left Labor Party who took office in May 2022, has recently suffered from a decline in approval ratings.some point out that he introduced this bill, which has left-wing populist characteristics, in order to change the situation. However, according to a recent survey by public opinion research company YouGov, 77% of respondents said they “support this law.”
Reporter Lee Ki-wook [email protected]
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