Australia's social media ban for under-16s comes into effect in world first
Under the new rules, platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Threads, X, Snapchat, Kick, Twitch, TikTok, Reddit and YouTube must block under-16s from accessing their accounts
Australia has officially switched off social media for millions of young people, as a landmark ban on under-16s came into force.
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The move, the first of its kind anywhere in the world, affects around five million children under 16, according to Australia’s Bureau of Statistics.
Under the new rules, platforms including Instagram, Facebook, Threads, X, Snapchat, Kick, Twitch, TikTok, Reddit and YouTube must block under-16s from accessing their accounts.
Social media firms have pushed back, but, with the exception of X, they’ve said they will comply.
Parents and children aren’t being targeted with penalties, but tech giants face fines of up to $49.5million (£25m) if they fail to enforce the ban.
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Canberra insists the clampdown is designed to shield young people from harmful content, online grooming, cyberbullying and what ministers have described as “predatory algorithms” that exploit teenage behaviour.
Opponents warn the legislation could cut vulnerable teens off from vital support networks and push children into unregulated online spaces.
Britain's Children's Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza has told LBC that she backs a UK ban on under-16s using social media.
Speaking on Tonight with Andrew Marr, Dame Rachel said that she was currently evaluating the effect of the Online Safety Act on children's wellbeing.
She added that if the landmark legislation has little or no effect on protecting children, she would like to see a full ban brought in for under-16s.
Dame Rachel told Andrew: "If we look at this country, I've done nationally representative surveys to show that a quarter of eight-year-olds have seen deeply degrading pornography, have seen terrible violence, beheadings, suicides online.
"I call the tech companies in and social media companies in regularly and ask them what they're doing to stop this. They give me worthy words, but no action.
"Now we have the new... Online Safety [Act]. It's six months in. I will be doing a piece of work at the end of the first year to see if it's made any difference at all."
The calls for an Australian-style ban was also made by the chief of Ofsted.
Sir Martyn Oliver claims the platforms are causing a surge in poor behaviour and school exclusions.
Sir Martyn's report also revealed that the number of children missing from education increased by a fifth last year, which he described as "a scandal."
The organisation's annual report, published on Tuesday, identified social media and smartphones as a key factor leading to disruptive behaviour.
Sir Martyn's report also revealed that the number of children missing from education increased by a fifth last year, which he described as "a scandal."
He described social media as "chipping away" at children’s attention spans, as well as "eroding the necessary patience for learning and promoting disrespectful attitudes and behaviour," the Times reported.
"And my answer to you is if it hasn't then we absolutely should ban social media for the under 16s."
Earlier this week, a bombshell report warned that more than 800,000 of children aged between three and five years old were engaging with social media.