Australia Plans To Impose Age Limit To Ban Children From Social Media

Australia is planning to impose a minimum age limit for children to use social media. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced this crucial move and said that his government is considering a minimum age of between 14 and 16. The PM also reportedly said that federal legislation to keep children off social media will be introduced this year. Australia made this decision citing concerns about the mental and physical health of children.

"The safety and mental and physical health of our young people is paramount. Parents want their kids off their phones and on the footy field. So do I," said the Australian PM to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Anthony Albanese also said that social media was taking children away from real-life experiences with friends and family and added that the ban should be coordinated at a national level.

Earlier in May, Anthony Albanese backed a campaign to increase the minimum age for registering social media accounts from 13 to 16. Meanwhile, the current centre-left government is planning to run an age verification trial before introducing age minimum laws for social media this year. Notably, Australia would be among the first countries in the world to implement an age restriction on social media.