Australia could soon become the first country in the world to introduce legislation for systematically ban the use of social networks for children under 16 thanks to a law recently approved by the so-called House of Representatives (corresponding to our Parliament) with an absolute majority of 102 votes in favour compared to only 13 against, synonymous with the fact that the opposition also agreed to the proposal put forward by the Labor MP Anthony Albanese: currently the ban on social media for minors has not yet become effective because the second favorable vote from the Senate which – barring any twists and turns – is expected on Thursday.
Without prejudice to the green light from the Senate, l‘Australia would become the first country in the world to approve a regulation of this type, with the Labor government having linked the proposal – explains Albanese himself – to the alleged negative effect that social media has on the mental development and health of young and very young peoplewith particular reference to girls constantly subjected to harmful physical models and references to “male supremacy“.
How the ban on the use of social media for children under 16 proposed in Australia works: controls, fines and criticism
The ban on social media for 16-year-olds – explains Albanese’s proposal – provides that the obligation to verify age is at the expense of the social platforms themselvesleaving a general freedom on the methods to be used but citing biometric verification systems or digital identities issued by the government among the possibilities; all this also providing for fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (roughly equal to 30 million euros) for platforms that repeatedly or systematically violate the obligation to verify the age of users; all also providing specifications exemptions for programs and sites useful for educationcome YouTube o Google Classroom.
Obviously, despite the broad government consensus on the innovative law proposed in Australia, there has also been no shortage of criticism among those – such as the opposition legislator Dan Tehan – who believe the entire text does not pay much attention to privacy of young and very young people and those who fear an automatic form of control would undermine parental authority pushing – moreover – users to navigate the so-called dark web opening up to even more harmful consequences.
