Sydney, Australia.
The Australian government will approve this year a law to impose a minimum age, between the ages of 14 and 16, to be able to use social networksPrime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Tuesday.
Legislation to keep children off these platforms will be implemented this year, Albanese said.
The minimum age to access networks like Facebook, Instagram or TikTok is not yet decided, but will move between 14 and 16 years, the Prime Minister said.
The center-left leader explained that in the coming months he will be put to the test an age verification system before implementing the new legislation.
“I want to see kids off their devices and on soccer fields, swimming pools and tennis courts,” Albanese said.
“We want them to have real experiences with real people because we know that the social networks “They are causing social harm,” the leader insisted on the ABC television network.
In a series of media interviews about this plan, Albanese He explained that his personal preference It would block access to these platforms for minors under 16 years of age.
Conservative opposition leader Peter Dutton gave his support to the government’s bill. “Every day that passes leaves the Children vulnerable to threats from networks social,” he said.
However, experts put into doubt that it is technically possible to impose a minimum age in the social networks.
“We know that current age verification methods are not reliable, are too easy to bypass or put user privacy at risk,” said University of Melbourne associate professor of computer science and information technology Toby Murray.
Analysts also point out that setting a minimum age could cause other problems.
For Daniel Angus, a professor at Queensland University of Technology, the government’s plan is “imprudent” and “hasty” because it comes before the final report of a parliamentary inquiry into the effects of social networks in Australian society.
- The plan “threatens to cause serious harm by excluding young people from meaningful and healthy participation in the digital world,” said the expert, who heads the university’s digital media research unit.
