The Albanese Government will legislate 16 as the minimum age for access to social media, following endorsement by National Cabinet today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decision follows extensive consultation with young people, parents and carers, academics and child development experts, community, industry and civil organisations, First Nations youth, and state and territory governments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Albanese Government will introduce legislation in the next Parliamentary sitting fortnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bill puts the onus on social media platforms, not parents or young people, to take reasonable steps to ensure fundamental protections are in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Government will continue to work closely with stakeholders in the lead up to the commencement of the law, with a lead time of at least 12 months following the Bill\u2019s passage to give industry, governments and the eSafety Commissioner time to implement systems and processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We will also use this time to develop guidance for parents, carers and children ahead of the change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bill builds upon the Australian Government\u2019s work to address online harms for young people, including the $6.5 million age assurance trial, establishing an online dating apps code, legislating new criminal penalties for non-consensual sexual deepfakes, and quadrupling base funding for the eSafety Commissioner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Government will ensure young Australians retain access to services that primarily provide education and health services, and work constructively with stakeholders to ensure that only services which meet the strict criteria under eSafety’s powers are able to be accessed by children under 16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSocial media is doing social harm to our kids. I\u2019m calling time on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe need to do everything we can to keep our kids safe, and wherever I go in Australia, I know one of the biggest issues worrying mums and dads is the impact social media is having on their children’s well being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want Australian parents and families to know we\u2019ve got their backs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn the next Parliamentary fortnight we will introduce legislation into the Parliament to make 16 the minimum age to access social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want to thank the Premiers and Chief Ministers for their engagement and support on this issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a national challenge that requires national leadership. That\u2019s what our Government is stepping up to deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIntroducing a minimum age for social media access is about protecting young people \u2013 not punishing or isolating them \u2013 and letting parents know that we are in their corner when it comes to supporting their children\u2019s health and well being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur decision to set the minimum age at 16 years is based on extensive consultation with experts, parents and young people. It strikes a balance between minimising harms experienced by young people during a critical period of development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSocial media has a social responsibility for the safety of their users, and this legislation is one way they\u2019re being held to account \u2013 with significant penalties for any breaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis measure is a key component of our work across the online safety space and will enable young people to use the internet in a safer and more positive way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Albanese Government will legislate 16 as the minimum age for access to social media, following endorsement by National Cabinet today. The decision follows extensive consultation with young people, parents and carers, academics and child development experts, community, industry and civil organisations, First Nations youth, and state and territory governments. The Albanese Government will introduce … Continue reading “Minimum age for social media access to protect Australian kids”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29998"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29999,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29998\/revisions\/29999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}