Australia's Social Media Crackdown Signals Global Push for Stronger Child Safety Laws
Australia's stricter enforcement of its under-16 social media ban is influencing governments worldwide as countries introduce tougher age-verification and child safety regulations.
SociapaHQ
Australia’s tougher enforcement of its landmark social media age restrictions is emerging as a wider global trend as governments move more toward legally mandating technology companies to prevent underage users from accessing social media platforms, rather than voluntary commitments.
The country was the first to prohibit children under 16 from having accounts on major social media platforms and was closely watched as a test case in regulating children’s access to the internet.
While previous approaches have depended on parents or users to be responsible, Australia’s legislation shifts the onus to platforms to take “reasonable steps” to prevent underage users from creating accounts.
But enforcement has been hard.
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Stricter Enforcement:
A peer-reviewed study published in the British Medical Journal found that more than 80% of surveyed teenagers were still using social media three months after the restrictions came into force, by creating fake accounts, using older family members' credentials or finding other ways around age checks.
Since the law came into effect, the Australian government said it has removed or restricted more than five million accounts of people under the age of majority. Regulators, however, argue that major technology platforms have not done enough to stop children from returning to their services.
Under proposed amendments, Australia's eSafety Commissioner would be given stronger powers, empowering the regulator to force social media platforms, app stores and age verification providers to hand over documents showing how they are enforcing age restrictions.
The regulator is investigating a number of large platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube over potential breaches of the law. Companies should use robust age assurance technologies, such as AI-based age estimation, identity verification, and other approved verification systems.
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The tougher regulatory approach reflects growing concerns worldwide over children's mental health, cyberbullying, online predators, addictive recommendation algorithms and excessive screen time.
Rather than relying primarily on parental controls, governments are increasingly requiring platforms to verify users' ages before granting access to social media services, marking a shift from moderating harmful content to restricting access altogether.
