Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese talks at the Wishing Tree at Parliament House in Canberra on Thursday, November 6, 2024. – Australia will move to pass new laws banning children under 16 years old from social media, Albanese said Thursday, vowing to crack down on tech companies failing to protect young users. Albanese said the new laws would be presented to state and territory leaders this week, before being introduced to parliament in late November. (Photo by TRACEY NEARMY / Agence France-Presse)
SYDNEY — Australia will move to pass new laws banning children under 16 years old from social media, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday, vowing to crack down on tech companies failing to protect young users.
“This one is for the mums and dads. Social media is doing real harm to kids and I’m calling time on it,” he told reporters.
Albanese first mooted a social media age limit earlier this year, but it is the first time he has put a firm number on it.
Article continues after this advertisementTech giants and social media platforms will bear the responsibility for ensuring users are old enough, Albanese said, rather than parents who were “worried sick about the safety of their kids online”.
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Article continues after this advertisementEarlier proposals to introduce a social media age limit have enjoyed broad bipartisan support in Australia.
Albanese said the new laws would be presented to state and territory leaders this week, before being introduced to parliament in late November.
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