The Prime Minister of Australia, Antoine Albanaisannounced on Tuesday that it would present by the end of 2024 a bill aimed at limiting minors’ access to social networks and other digital platforms, in order to alleviate mental health problems among children and adolescents.
Although the minimum age for accessing social networks has not yet been determined, He should be between 14 and 16 years old.according to Albanese in an interview given this Tuesday to the Australian public channel ABC.
“We are evaluating how to do it”said Albanese, whose government is awaiting completion of a $1 million age-verification technology pilot plan to protect children and teens from harmful comments, announced in May.
“The safety and mental and physical health of our young people are paramount”said the Labour leader, stressing that “no generation has faced this challenge before”, which will affect networks such as Facebook, Instagram And Tik Tokas indicated Efe.
Albanese’s plan will also build on a proposal from the South Australian state government, announced earlier this week, which seeks to force companies that run social media sites to bar access to children under 14 or face death, among other measures.
The study supporting the South Australian proposal cites medical experts who warn of problems with harassment, aggression, self-esteem and sexualisation, among others, among adolescents, who spend an average of 3.3 hours a day on social networks, as published this Tuesday in the journal Sydney Morning Herald.
With your plan, Australia is echoing global concerns that led Spain to set the minimum age for social media access at 14.although it is expected to be increased to 16, given privacy risks, coercion, threats and computer scams.
Similarly, Puerto Rico decreed last July 18 years as the minimum age to activate an account on any social network, a measure similar to that of Texas (United States), while in the US state of Florida the minimum age is 14 years.
Two laws have been passed in New York: one to require parental consent for minors under 18 to use “addictive chat threads” based on recommendation algorithms, and another to limit data collection from minors.
