Australia

With the first in the world social media ban for teenagers under 16 currently in force in Australia, its initial policy architect is celebrating a new, less digital era for millions of children and shares that the legislation was personally inspired by his wife, for their four children.

“He read a book called ‘The Anxious Generation’ by Jonathan Haidt,” said Peter Malinauskas, premier of the state of South Australia. “And I’ll never forget the night he finished reading the book, put it in his lap, and turned to me and said, ‘You better do something about it!'”

In seven months, and with strong public support, that idea quickly became law across the country, garnering the support of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Ten major apps, including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit and Facebook, have complied to ban anyone under 16 from accessing their accounts and creating new accounts.

“God forbid they talk to each other a little more, pick up the phone and chat instead of just being obsessed with the screen“said Maulinauskas.

The ban places liability on social media companies rather than parents, with a fine of up to $33 million if they are found to be in violation. It allows each company to decide how best to adhere, which should be “multi-layered”, using more than one type of identity verification, which could include traditional methods such as national IDs and passports, but also artificial intelligence (controversial for possible inaccuracies) to scan facial features for age.

Malinauskas readily admits there will be growing pains.

“People will find ways around it and a lot of things will go wrong, and that will be highlighted in the coming days and weeks in Australia,” he said, “but overall this is a reform that parents want so they can do their jobs more easily.”

He says officials from North America, Europe and Asia have been talking to him about the possibility of promoting similar legislation in Canada, the United Kingdom and Japan. Malaysia is already on track to be the next country to ban access to social media for those under 16 in 2026.

However, in Australia the law is already facing a legal challenge. The country’s High Court accepted a legal challenge from two 15-year-olds who claim the ban violates their freedom of communication. The case could be heard as early as February.

Malinauskas blames those companies for subjecting all children to “a global experiment” over the last decade with “addiction and overuse of social media because many of these platforms have had addictive algorithms.”

““I’m very proud, very proud to have been able to see South Australia and then Australia lead a reform that will make a big difference to the lives of young people,” he said.

“And the reason politicians are looking at it is because parents know something isn’t right. You know, there’s no better judge than parents to determine what’s best for a child, right?”