January 2, Australia: Australia bans Social Media for teens below the age of 16. Australia has recently reenacted a law that prohibits individuals under the age of 16 from accessing social media platforms. The tech industry’s expanding influence has been in the teen’s minds and this decision was made to protect the children from the overbearing influence.
All the major countries around the world banning minors from using social media, which will take effect a year from now and will identify the user’s age verification, not complying could trigger fines of up to $50 million. The bill passed one of the strictest internet techs in the world.
The Tech companies have also argued that blocking kids from these sites will keep them away from the less regulated corners of the world.
However, this law comes as scrutiny in Washington, where the eSafety Commission spoke about was set up 9 years ago in 2015 in order to look into these issues, this Commission also regulates cyberbullying in the country, and issues of deepfakes and non-consensual images for instance.
The bill passing in Australia has sparked debate amongst many officials in the US and circulating talks in the eSafety Commission.
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