Children in Australia under the age of 16 will be banned from social media as part of a push to protect young people’s mental health, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced, with the companies involved required to enforce the new regulations or face potential fines.
I think it’s a step in the right direction, though it will be interesting to see where the boundaries are drawn. Does YouTube count? What about gaming platforms like Roblox and Fortnite?
Edit: On further reading about this, I’m changing my mind. I can’t see how this would be implemented effectively without some kind of age verification. Unless it’s a meaningless Steam-style “What’s your birthday?” question, that makes it far more troublesome for everyone’s privacy. I can’t see how it would get off the ground after so many Australians have had their data stolen already.