With about two months to go till Australia’s teen social media ban formally begins, the federal authorities isn’t ready to spruik its “world-first” coverage, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to make use of an handle on the United Nations this week to put it up for sale.
Some of the main points of how the ban (additionally known as a social media minimal age) will likely be enforced have gotten clear. But the subsequent query is: what will likely be its influence?
Over the ban’s 18-month journey — from a media-backed marketing campaign to regulation — the federal government’s rationale for it has shifted whereas all the time encompassing a variety of purported advantages.
Albanese has usually repeated the road that “social media is doing social hurt”. However, the character of those harms and their penalties has different from individual to individual, even from interview to interview, inside the authorities.
Given the self-described “landmark” nature of the ban and the worldwide curiosity, there will likely be plenty of consideration on whether or not the coverage will fulfil its promise and enhance the lives of Australian youngsters and oldsters.
Crikey has pulled collectively the federal government’s promised advantages and the issues that will likely be fastened by the teenager social media ban:
- Reduce publicity to dangerous content material: “What we wish to be certain that although is that we prohibit the dangerous content material” — Anthony Albanese
- End social media dependancy attributable to the platform’s design: “The [ban] is meant to handle dangerous impacts resembling addictive behaviours attributable to persuasive or manipulative design options.” — Online Safety (Age-Restricted Social Media Platforms) Rules 2025 explanatory assertion
- Curb extreme quantities of time spent on social media: “Children and younger folks can also persistently exceed the length of time they intend to make use of social media, interact in misleading behaviours to safe entry, and expertise detrimental impacts” — Online Safety (Age-Restricted Social Media Platforms) Rules 2025 explanatory assertion
- Reduce cyber-bullying: “The [ban] will scale back harms (resembling cyber bullying).” — the Department of Communication’s Social Media Age Limit influence evaluation equal supplementary evaluation
- Reduce peer stress (particularly over social media use): “A minimal age for social media would scale back the FOMO skilled by younger folks by altering the behaviours of the complete cohort, reasonably than just a few — teenagers gained’t really feel pressured to be on social media if their mates aren’t on-line both.” — the Department of Communication’s Social Media Age Limit influence evaluation equal supplementary evaluation
- Tackling “social isolation … poor psychological and bodily well being (together with unhealthy social comparisons and detrimental physique picture), and low-life satisfaction” attributable to social media — Online Safety (Age-Restricted Social Media Platforms) Rules 2025 explanatory assertion
- Improve sleep for teenagers: “Social media use has additionally been explicitly linked to poor sleep” — Online Safety (Age-Restricted Social Media Platforms) Rules 2025 explanatory assertion
- Fighting little one sexual exploitation and abuse: “[Social media is used as] a instrument for on-line predators.” — Anthony Albanese
- Give youngsters extra time to develop abilities earlier than occurring social media: “It’s respiratory area to construct digital literacy, essential reasoning, impulse management and better resilience.” — eSafety Commissioner’s workplace
- Increase time spent exterior: “I need younger Australians to develop up enjoying exterior with their mates, on the footy subject, within the swimming pool, making an attempt each sport that grabs their curiosity, discovering music and artwork, being assured and joyful within the classroom and at dwelling.” — Anthony Albanese
- Stop youngsters from being focused with their information: “[The ban will help] by considerably proscribing the power for firms to reap and monetise youngsters’s private info and delicate information” — Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 explanatory memorandum
- Reduce the quantity of faux information seen by teenagers: “The invoice reduces the chance of kids being uncovered to false and deceptive info that’s prolific on social media.” — Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 explanatory memorandum
- Avoid being uncovered to information breaches: “Interferences with privateness, resembling by means of an information breach, may cause critical interferences with the fitting to well being by means of monetary loss, identification theft or fraud, emotional misery, reputational injury, bodily hurt, coercion and/or discrimination.” — Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 explanatory memorandum
- Stop youngsters from being doxxed or stalked: “This information can allow an individual to be recognized or positioned, permitting for dangerous actors to trigger or contribute to the intentional infliction of bodily or psychological harm to a person in Australia” — Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 explanatory memorandum
- Stopping scams: “[Social media is] a car for scammers” — Anthony Albanese
- Set a brand new social norm for an applicable age to be on social media: “Setting a minimal age removes ambiguity about when the ‘proper’ time is for his or her youngsters to have interaction on social media and establishes a brand new social norm.” — Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024 explanatory memorandum
- Reducing stress on mother and father: “We know mother and father are fearful about social media and we’re stepping as much as assist.” — Anthony Albanese
- Setting clear expectations for tech platforms about how they’re supposed to limit youngsters from their platforms: “eSafety’s steerage makes clear that platforms should adjust to the regulation, and likewise present clear and accessible info to their customers about their age assurance techniques.” — Communications Minister Anika Wells
The Albanese authorities’s pledged advantages for the teenager social media ban vary from the discrete to the unquantifiable, however every part’s on the desk for an unprecedented coverage like this. So, too, are the unintended penalties of teenagers hoping to bypass the ban.
The coverage is already slated for 2 opinions: a statutory evaluation and a tutorial evaluation overseen by the eSafety commissioner, anticipated to be formally introduced later this week.
