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Australia bans social media for under-16s
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Children under the age of 16 in Australia will be banned from using social media, after the Australian government passed a new law on Thursday.
The law, which will take at least 12 months before it comes into effect, will see social media companies fined 拢25.7m ($50m Australian dollars) if they don't follow the rules.
It makes Australia the first country in the world to bring in a social media ban for under-16s.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says it's needed to protect young people from the "harms" of social media.
But critics argue it's not clear how the ban will work and how it will impact privacy.
What do you think of the ban? Let us know in the comments below.
What do we know about the ban?
The government haven't said which platforms will be banned for under-16s yet.
This will be decided later by Australia's communications minister, alongside an internet regulator who will enforce the rules.
It won't affect gaming and messaging platforms.
And it won't affect sites which can be accessed without needing to create an account, like YouTube.
The government says it'll be down to social media platforms to bring in age-verification technology.
But there are questions from critics around how this will work and whether it will affect privacy.
The Australian government have said children won't get in trouble if they don't follow the rules.
The bill still needs to go to the House of Representatives to approve any changes before it becomes law.
It's not likely to take effect for at least another year.
What has the reaction been?
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Not everyone agrees with the new law.
Meta, who own Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, say the changes won't help keep children safe online.
YouTube owners Google, and Snapchat owners Snap say the new law doesn't have enough detail.
TikTok said the Australian government鈥檚 definition of a social media platform was so "broad and unclear" that "almost every online service could fall within [it]".
Aside from social media companies, the new law has also been criticised by some young people.
16-year-old Australian social media user Enie Lam said it was "good" that the government wanted to do something to protect children online.
But said she thought young people should be allowed to "regulate our own personal social media usage, rather than being forced off of it" in an interview with Reuters news agency.
What's happening in the UK?
Many social media apps already have age restrictions.
But online safety experts say those rules aren't enforced by social media platforms properly.
In the UK, Ofcom - the group which oversees rules for UK TV, radio and internet - says children regularly see harmful content on social media.
In May 2024, Ofcom published more than 40 guidelines it says sites and apps should follow to keep children safe online.
These included bringing in new ways to check how old users are, changing what they see, removing harmful content more effectively, and helping users report it.
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Recent changes to the law - the Online Safety Act - aim to make online and social media companies legally responsible for keeping children and young people safe.
Some of the big social media companies say they have extra protections for users who are under-18 and that these help parents control what their children see.
The UK's technology secretary says a similar ban for under-16s here is "on the table" but "not at the moment" and that he would "do what it takes" to keep young people safe online.