Australian Parliament approves ban on social networking sites for kids under 16

The Australian Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of banning social networking sites for those under 16. It did so Thursday after the country’s House of Representatives also did so with an overwhelming majority. Parliament thus passed the law, which will come into force soon.

The new Australian law adopts measures to prevent the use of certain apps that have been reported to be harmful to the mental health and safety of minors. TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram are some of them.

The Australian initiative is not unremarkable. In the United States, many federal administrations have measures like this in the pipeline, with the aim of curbing bad habits among the very young. In Australia, the aforementioned apps may be subject to hefty fines of up to $33 million for failing to comply with the rule.

The platforms will have to conduct their checks without accessing users' private data, however. The law stipulates that apps will not be able to force users to present government-issued identity documents, such as passports or driver's licenses, nor will they be able to require digital identification through a government system.

The Australian law had the support of around 77% of the population, who believe that minors' access to social networks and the internet should be further regulated. However, there are some critics of this legislation who believe that it infringes on individual freedoms.

Others, such as Elon Musk, suggest that this law is a way for the Australian government to control citizens and their free access to the internet. The tech mogul, and future member of Trump's White House cabinet, called the law a "backdoor" for government surveillance.