Australia's social media ban for people under the age of 16 will officially take effect on the 10th of this month. Minors under the age of 16 are prohibited from registering or using mainstream social platforms, even with parental consent, it is against the rules.It is reported that violators of the platform will face a sky-high fine of up to 50 million Australian dollars (approximately 230 million yuan).
The Australian Federal Parliament passed the "Cybersecurity (Minimum Age for Social Media) Amendment Act 2024" in November last year, which prohibits minors under the age of 16 from using most social media platforms.
After the bill comes into effect, Australia will become the first country in the world to implement such a ban, and it will also be the country with the strictest legislation on the use of social media by minors in the world.
All platforms with comment, private message or subscription functions such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, and YouTube are included in the supervision.
According to the bill, online social media companies that fail to take reasonable measures to prevent minors under 16 years of age from using their platforms will be fined up to approximately AU$50 million, but minors or their parents who violate the regulations will not be punished.
Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells said that although this ban cannot completely protect children from online content, it can at least allow children to grow up better.
