On Thursday, the Australian Senate passed the Social Media Minimum Age bill, which will effectively ban children under 16 years old from social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, X, and more. Under the new law these platforms could be fined up to 50 million Australian dollars if they fail to prevent under-16s from using their apps.
After the law was overwhelmingly supported by the House of Representatives on Wednesday with a 102-13 count, the Senate locked in the decision with a 34-19 vote. The final vote came after heated debates between lawmakers, advocates and citizens throughout the year. As a growing body of research demonstrates the detrimental effects of social media use on the mental health and well-being of children, more lawmakers across the globe are calling for increased restrictions on social media companies.
The bill is widely supported for its aim in protecting children from worsening mental health, inappropriate content and addictive tendencies. However, others argue that the bill could also have detrimental results by isolating minors from the connective potential of social media use, especially for LGBTQ+ minors who use social media to find community.
Now that the bill is officially passed, social media companies will be granted a year to implement the ban before the law takes full effect.
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