Australia’s social media ban protects the mental health of children: a look at the evidence
December 12, 2024
The Australian government recently passed legislation banning under-16-year-olds from using social media — with no exemption for parental consent. This is the world’s strictest law regarding children’s social media use. It aims to protect children from the harms of Tik-Tok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and others — to reach beyond the United Kingdom’s Online Safety Act 2023 and the proposed “Kids’ Online Safety Act” (KOSA) in the United States.
Without exception, children are always worth protecting. As an Australian psychiatrist, my hope is that my job might become easier in the future due to this law, which takes effect next year. This legislation was enacted on the basis of growing public awareness and evidence about the harms of social media use. As the BBC explained:
