Australia gears up to impose social media ban on teens. What Britain, Norway and EU nations are doing

Indian Express

a day ago

Australia is set to implement curbs on a million teens on social media usage from this December and the young users are scrambling to find a way past it.
Social media companies like Meta, Snapchat and TikTok will invite a fine of more than $49.5 million if they fail to implement what the law calls 'reasonable steps' to block teen users from December this year, Reuters reported. As per the norms of the online platforms, users need to be at least 13 years old to sign up for an account.
In the bid to impose the ban, Australia is coming up with age-checking software and 13-year-old Jasmine Elin who tested it was surprised by its accuracy. However, she is sceptical if it will work.
'People are always going to find a way to get past it,' Elin was quoted as saying by Reuters. She had tested five photo-based age estimation products with about 30 other students in May. 'They can get their brother or sister to take a photo. There's nothing really that you can do about it,' she said.
With the implementation of the world's first national social media ban on those below 16 years, dubbed to protect their mental and physical health, coming up in Australia, similar echoes are found in other parts of the world like Britain, France and Singapore.
Here's what Britain, Norway and European Union countries including France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands have been doing to curb social media usage among teens and children:
Back in November last year, Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology had said that everything is on the table when it comes to keeping people safe online and has launched a study to explore the impact of smartphone and social media use specifically on children. He had said that regulator Ofcom must have regard to government priorities such as safety by design and transparency and accountability, as they enforce the Online Safety Act from next year. The act, which imposes standards for social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and TikTok comprising of appropriate age restrictions was passed in 2023 by the then government.
Norway: In October last year, the Norwegian government had proposed raising the age at which children can consent to the terms required to use social media to 15 years from 13 years. However, as per the regulations, parents would be permitted to sign off on their behalf they are under the age limit. The government had said work was underway to set an absolute legal minimum age limit for social media use. As per government data, half of Norway's nine-year-olds use social media in some form or the other.
EU legislation: Parental permission is mandatory for processing of personal date for children under the age of 16 in the European Union while the bloc's 27 member states can lower the limit to 13.
France: Two years ago, France had passed a law mandating social platforms to get parental consent for minors under 15 to set up accounts. While local media say technical challenges hindered its implementation, in April last year, a panel headed by President Emmanuel Macron put forth stricter rules, including banning cellphones for children under 11 and internet-enabled phones for those under 13.
Germany: While child protection advocates say limitations are insufficient in the country and urge for stricter rules, minors between the ages of 13 and 16 are permitted to use social media in Germany with parents' consent.
Belgium: In 2018, Belgium implemented a law permitted children to be at least 13 years old to set up a social media account without parental consent.
Netherlands: The government had banned mobile devices in classrooms from January 2024 to limit distractions during studies, with exceptions for online classes, medical needs and disabilities. There is no particular law related to minimum age for social media usage in the country.
Italy: Children under the age of 14 require parental permission to set up social media accounts, while no permission is required for those above 14.
(With inputs from Reuters, New York Times)