The Australian Parliament approved legislation on Thursday banning access to social networks for those under 16, one of the strictest measures in the world in this area for platforms like X, Tik Tok, Instagram or Facebook.
The text, which obtained the green light from both houses of parliament and support from the main parties, should soon force these platforms to take “reasonable measures” to prevent these teenagers from having an account.
Failure to comply with this obligation will result in fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars (30.7 million euros).
Meta, parent company of Facebook and Instagram, regretted that what the sector had not taken into account “already done to ensure age-appropriate experiences”while ensuring that the law would be respected.
The text, denounced as “rushed”, ” vague “ et ” problematic “ by several platforms, obtained the green light from the Australian Senate on Thursday, by 34 votes for and 19 against, after that of the Australian Lower House the day before, and its entry into force is in little doubt.
The center-left Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, who is preparing for elections at the start of the year, championed this text, and called on parents of children to unite with this law.
Before the vote, he accused social media of being “a platform for social pressure, a source of anxiety, a channel for scammers and, worst of all, a tool for online predators” and hoped that young Australians “put down their phones and instead find themselves on the football fields, cricket pitches, tennis courts, volleyball courts or at the swimming pool”.
The law will not make “safer social networks for young people”estimated on the contrary an elected Australian environmentalist Sarah Hanson-Young during the debate in the Senate, who said “devastated” to see the young people “addicted to these dangerous algorithms”.
“I will find a way”
Two women on a bench in Sydney, November 7, 2024 / DAVID GRAY / AFP/Archives
Young Australians are already saying they intend to circumvent this ban. “I will find a way, and my friends will do the same”told AFP Angus Lydom, 12 years old, who wants to continue to be on social networks: “It would be weird not having them and not being able to talk to my friends when I’m at home”he said.
The same goes for Elsie Arkinstall, 11 years old, for whom social networks have their place, even for children, to watch, for example, baking or art tutorials. “We can’t learn all this from books”she said.
On paper, Australia’s ban is one of the strictest in the world.
But the text provides almost no details on its terms of application, so that some experts have expressed doubts about the technical feasibility of this ban and wonder if it is not a text with symbolic significance. but inapplicable.
It will take at least a year before the law comes into force, time for Australian regulators to clarify the details relating to its application.
Meta expressed his determination that “the rules are applied systematically for all social network applications used by adolescents”.
A schoolboy looks at his phone in Melbourne on November 27, 2024 / William WEST / AFP
Certain platforms such as WhatsApp and YouTube, which adolescents need to do their homework, should also be exempted.
Amendments have been made to the text to prevent users from having to produce their identity card to attest to their age.
Programs that teach children to think “critically” what they see online should be adopted, like Finland, social media expert Susan Grantham told AFP.
The entry into force of this new legislation will be closely followed abroad, with several countries also considering implementing similar restrictions, such as Spain.
In the American state of Florida, a law is due to come into force in January to prohibit the opening of an account to under-14s but the practical arrangements have not been set.
China has restricted access for minors since 2021 and requires identification via an identity document. Those under 14 cannot spend more than 40 minutes a day on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and online gaming time for children and adolescents is limited.