Anthony Albanese moves to pin down an age limit that will apply to his proposed social media ban for children
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called on state premiers and territory ministers to share their preferred age limit as the federal government develops its plan to impose a strict age limit on social media access.
States and territories differ on the minimum age for social media, with leaders putting the ideal range between 14 and 16.
Mr Albanese has asked Prime Ministers and First Ministers to provide evidence on their preferred limit, whether there should be exemptions and what impact the limits could have on states that have introduced phone bans.
Leaders will also be asked for their views on current account ‘grandfathering’ schemes, and the role of parental consent in setting age limits.
States and territories will need to explain how they plan to implement comprehensive measures to support young people, including the consequences of withdrawal, creating alternative means of social connection and community, as well as support for vulnerable groups such as teenagers in rural or remote areas , LGBTQI+ communities and indigenous communities. groups.
State and territory leaders have been asked by Anthony Albanese to set an age for a proposed ban on social media
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that the government will introduce the ban by the end of 2024.
He said he wanted to get kids off their phones and “have real experiences with real people.”
“We know that social media is causing social harm. We must do everything we can to keep our children safe and help them grow up happy, healthy and confident,” he said.
“Legislating a minimum age for access to social media is about protecting young people, not punishing or isolating them.
“Protecting children from harm is a shared responsibility of all governments, as well as industry, civil society and communities.”
Before Labour’s proposed ban, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton made an election promise to ban teenagers under the age of 16 from using social media within the first 100 days after the Coalition came to power.
NSW Premier Chris Minns supports a minimum age limit of 16, but Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan and South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas support a stricter age limit of 14.
Mr Albanese (pictured on Saturday with candidate for Fowler Dai Le) has promised to introduce the laws by the end of the year
Other jurisdictions have supported national measures to lead the ban, without choosing an age limit.
On Friday, the NSW government released a statewide survey of 21,000 people, 87 percent of whom supported age limits on social media use.
In the study, 16 years was the most commonly suggested age.
The research found that teenagers aged 16 to 17 use social media for more than three hours a day on average, with 70 percent of children aged 10 to 12 already using platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
The research comes ahead of the state’s joint two-day Social Media Summit with the South Australian Government, scheduled for October 10 and 11.