Australia’s prime minister on Friday pledged to strengthen laws backing the country’s social media ban for under 16s as the government prepares legal action against platforms amid mounting evidence that the restrictions have had little impact on teenage use.
The world’s first nationwide experiment, introduced six months ago, is being closely monitored by countries considering similar measures over concerns about the impact of social media on young people’s mental and physical health. Britain this month announced plans for broader restrictions that will also cover gaming and live streaming platforms.
The Australian government is preparing to stress test legislation that prevents platforms such as Instagram and YouTube from providing accounts to users under the age of 16.
Numerous studies have shown that age assurance measures introduced by technology companies, including selfie verification systems, can easily be bypassed by children and that many young users were never asked to verify their age.
“What we want to do is to make sure that the laws are as strong as possible and that they will withstand any legal challenges which are made,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
He said one priority would be ensuring that the country’s internet regulator, the eSafety commissioner, had sufficient powers to enforce the law effectively.
Albanese did not provide further details on the measures under consideration, while the regulator declined to comment.
The eSafety commissioner and Communications Minister Anika Wells have said they are preparing legal action against five of the largest platforms, which could face fines of up to A$49.5 million if they are found to have systematically failed to enforce the ban.
Reddit is separately challenging the legislation in Australia’s highest court, seeking to overturn it on free speech grounds. The government has said it will defend the case.
When the ban came into effect last December, there were reports that platforms had shut down millions of accounts, but parents and researchers say teenage social media use has changed little.
A study published in the British Medical Journal this week found that 85 per cent of Australians aged between 12 and 15 were still using social media three months after the restrictions came into force, based on research involving 408 adolescents.
The paper found that two thirds of underage users remained online by declaring themselves older than 16 or by submitting selfies that platforms accepted as proof they were above the age limit.
The findings broadly reflected figures released by Australia’s eSafety commissioner in March showing that one third of Australians under 16 were still using social media platforms.
Experts on youth social media use said a transition period while platforms, parents and teenagers adapted to the new rules was always expected.
Parents are now more willing to monitor and regulate their children’s social media use, according to Susan Sawyer, a professor of adolescent health at the University of Melbourne and an adviser to the eSafety commissioner.
Sawyer is also co author of a study published this month that found high social media use was linked to poorer mental health outcomes, particularly among younger teenagers.
“We do have evidence that those social norms are starting to change about what is the right age to get a phone,” added Sawyer.
“As a pediatrician who is doing research in this space, I’ve got my antennae up. The conversations that people are having with me now are the sorts of conversations that no one was having with me six months ago,” she said.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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