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| FILE PHOTO: 80th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York |
The global community, including governments and major tech companies, is closely monitoring Australia's landmark effort to become the first nation to prohibit children under the age of 16 from using social media. The groundbreaking legislation is set to take effect this December.
A key component of Australia's strategy is its requirement for social media companies to utilize advanced methods for age verification. Rather than relying on simple self-declaration, the law mandates the use of artificial intelligence and behavioral data to more accurately estimate the age of users.
"This is not perfectly accurate, but it is an important step in the right direction," Prime Minister Albanese stated during his address at the "Protecting Children in the Digital Age" event, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.
The initiative received a powerful endorsement from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who expressed her admiration for Australia's bold stance.
"I am inspired by Australia's example," she said in her speech. "We in Europe are watching and will learn from you... we must act for the next generation."
Passed into law in November 2024, Australia's ban is designed to raise the minimum age for creating a social media account from the current standard of 13 to 16 years old.
The proposal was put forward by Albanese's center-left government, which cited a growing body of research highlighting the detrimental effects of social media overuse on the mental health of adolescents. The government pointed to specific harms such as the spread of misinformation, cyberbullying, and exposure to content that promotes negative body image.
Mr. Albanese described his government's efforts as a common-sense, and long overdue, measure to safeguard children during a crucial developmental period in their lives.
"The challenge we are facing is constantly evolving, and different countries are dealing with it in different ways," Albanese said. He added that the law will give Australian youth "three more years to be shaped by real-life experience, not algorithms."
