Under global spotlight, Australia plays hardball on social media ban

Since Australia banned children from ​using social media in December, lawmakers from Spain to Malaysia have expressed interest in following suit, while U.S. courts have found tech firms negligent toward ‌young users.

Since Australia banned children from ​using social media in December, lawmakers from Spain to Malaysia have expressed interest in following suit, while U.S. courts have found tech firms negligent toward ‌young users.

This global spotlight on the first such ban on people under 16 using popular apps appears to ​have encouraged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government to ramp up enforcement this week of what it was touting as ⁠successful cooperation with industry two months ago, tech policy experts say.

In getting more aggressive with apps such as Instagram and TikTok, Albanese’s centre-left government is pleased with the overseas interest, at least eight countries have said they want similar curbs, but keen to counter the news that many teens are still scrolling ‌on their phones, experts say.

“The whole world’s watching Australia in this experiment, and therefore it looks like weak government to back down or pretend that the failures in reasonable efforts aren’t happening,” said Jeannie Paterson, co-founder of ‌the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Ethics, who regularly advises government on tech policy.

A spokesperson for Communications Minister Anika Wells ‌said she ⁠had not toughened her stance due to global attention, declining to comment further.

A month after the ban took ⁠effect, the government reported in mid-January that social media platforms had deactivated 4.7 million suspected underage accounts, prompting industry participants to expect a grace period of up to a year on enforcement of the ban.