The controversial measure will take around 12 months to come into force
Social networks like Instagram or Snapchat would not be the only ones affected. The restrictions would also be valid for YouTube, Roblox or Discord
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Australia is a country known for many things, such as being the largest in Oceania and the sixth in the world, which has led it to be megadiverse. It has a great variety of landscapes and climateshighlighting deserts in the center, tropical jungles in the northeast and mountain ranges in the southeast. In addition, it has some animals that attract a lot of attention, such as koalas and kangaroosas well as large insects which are the nightmare of entomophobes (fear of insects). If this is your case, we advise you not to look for images of the giant or huntsman crab spider (huntsmanin English).
It is also a country quite far from practically the rest of the world. From Spain it takes around a whole day by plane, so it is logical that there is a time difference of 10 hours ahead. That is why they welcome the New Year well in advance, in addition to being able to enjoy product launches, video games and movie premieres a little earlier.
Yeah, Australia is a very peculiar country and where many people want to go, either on vacation or even to live (if you’re not afraid of giant insects). However, it will be a little more difficult for minors to reside there, since a new law will prevent them from using various Internet servicescomo YouTube o PlayStation Network.
Australia wants to protect children under 16 from the dangers of the Internet with a controversial measure
Social networks can have a very negative impact on the mental health of young people
Although social networks have their good thingssuch as allowing you to stay in touch with friends and family, in addition to accessing extensive knowledge on different topics and finding out about breaking news, They also have their negative side, which is usually very unpleasant..
From deception and extortion to hoaxes, cyberbullying and information overload that our brains are unable to assimilate. All this, together with excessive use, can lead to depression, social isolationdecreased physical activity, low self-esteem, anxiety and difficulty sleeping, among other things.
Those who suffer the most from these effects are children and adolescents, which has led the Australian government to take measures to protect them. One of the most “controversial” is to impose a minimum age restriction to be able to use social networks. Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese recently announced that he would 16 years.
While it is to be expected that this restriction affects social networks such as Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat andwhich are the most used by young people, the truth is that would affect more platforms than expectedsince the concept of “social network” is quite broad and covers a lot.
Apparently, the definition of social network for Australia’s internet safety law (Online Safety Act) refers to “electronic services that satisfy the following conditions”:
- The sole or primary purpose of the Service is to enable online social interaction between two or more end users.
- The Service allows end users to link or interact with some or all other end users.
- The Service allows end users to post material to the Service.
This is why popular gaming platforms as Roblox or based on chats such as Reddit or Discord would be banned, without forgetting the well-known video portal YouTube (which also works as a social network), in addition to services such as PlayStation Network or Xbox Live, since they also allow you to connect with other users.
To ensure that users are at least 16 years old, platforms will introduce new specific technical options. Although they have not been specified which ones, among the possibilities are that of provide an identity document as well as biometric data (see facial scan).
However, the restrictions would not come into force from today to tomorrow: they would take around twelve months, at least. Additionally, platforms that do not implement age verification features would be penalized. Nevertheless, If young people and their parents or legal guardians falsify this information, they will not be punished, as explained by the source detailing the case.
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