Australia, one of the first major democracies, is about to impose a ban social media under-16 access, leaving a 15-year-old schoolboy worried about how he’ll keep in touch with his distant circle of friends. The ban, which will come into force from tomorrow, will affect platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit and Twitch.
Riley lives 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Wudinna — a community of just over 1,000 people in South Australia. However, some of his friends from school live 70 kilometers away.
“I don’t think the impact is going to be very positive for us. We don’t have much to contact each other,” Riley told ABC News. “I’m not sure how we’ll keep in touch over the holidays,” he said, referring to the Southern Hemisphere’s summer vacation, which begins Thursday.
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Riley’s mother, teacher Sonia Allen, said she wouldn’t help her son get around ban on social networksthough she suspects some other parents might.
“I wouldn’t. I know there are other people who would do that. If there’s a rule, there’s a rule. But I know what kids are like, and I was a kid, and if they can, they’ll get around it,” she explained.
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Although the law does not allow parents to allow their children to use social media, Allen believes that parents still have an important role to play in guiding and monitoring their children’s online activities.
A year ago, she temporarily banned Riley from using social media for a few weeks.
“In the past with Riley, we’ve had to take measures to limit his use because we’d find him at midnight on social media and he wouldn’t do his homework and things like that. We ended up taking it off him for a couple of months,” Allen said. “Since then, he’s learned to use it more responsibly.”
Riley, who will be 16 in April, acknowledged the purpose of the ban but suggested alternative ways to achieve it. He proposed an enforced social media curfew at 10pm for younger children to prevent them from sleeping.
How will Australia’s under 16 social media ban work?
Australia has introduced a new law aimed at protecting young people from the negative effects of social media. Under the legislation, anyone under the age of 16 will be banned from using social media platforms, with the rules coming into effect on December 10.
The ban does not impose penalties on children or their parents. Instead, it places the onus on social media companies, requiring them to take “reasonable steps” to verify that users are at least 16 years old. Platforms that fail to comply face fines of up to A$49.5 million for the most serious violations.
The law also provides for certain exemptions. Major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok fall under the ban, along with streaming services like Kick and Twitch. However, some popular apps – including Roblox, Pinterest and WhatsApp – are currently excluded from the restrictions.
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The government said some platforms will be exempted from the under-16 social media ban if they focus primarily on specific functions, including:
Sending messages, emails or making voice and video calls
Sharing details about products or services
Professional networking or career development
Communication between schools and students or their families
Connecting health care providers with the individuals who use their services
