Australia’s prime minister has warned that implementing the country’s new social media ban for children under 16 – which came into force on Wednesday – will be difficult.
Parents across Australia are reported to have found their children distraught after discovering they had been shut out of online platforms.
Some children are said to be fooling age estimation technology by drawing on fake facial hair or using parents and older siblings to dodge the implementation of the ban.
From Wednesday, a host of social media sites face fines of up to $49.5m (£25m) if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove the accounts of the banned teenagers.
While Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the move as “the day when Australian families are taking back power from these big tech companies”, many young people used their last few hours to criticise the government.
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The prime minister, who has lost over 6,000 followers across TikTok and Instagram since Tuesday, has borne the brunt of anger about the ban’s introduction, which he warned “won’t be perfect”.
One comment on his TikTok account read “just wait until we’re able to vote”, another said, “still here mate”.
Parents whose children have large social media followings and use online platforms as part of their businesses raised alarm over the financial impact of the ban.
Simone Clements said the social media ban would come at a financial cost to her 15-year-old twins Carlee and Hayden Clements. Carlee is an actor, model, dancer, singer and influencer, while her brother is an actor and model.
Both have used social media to grow their following online and income stream.
Two teenagers have even launched a legal bid to try and challenge the ban.
However, despite the criticism, the ban has been widely welcomed by many.
Wayne Holdsworth, whose son took his own life after being targeted in an online sextortion scam, described the law as a start.
Holdsworth, who became an age restriction advocate following his son’s death, said: “Our kids that we’ve lost haven’t died in vain because today they’ll be looking down very proud of the work that we’ve all done.”
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Flossie Brodribb, a 12-year-old advocate for a social media ban for young children, described the plan as bold and brave.
She added: “It will help kids like me to grow up healthier, safer, kinder and more connected to the real world.”
The government has said it will report by Christmas if the under-16 social media ban is working.
Communications minister Anika Wells warned children who had managed to evade the start of the ban that they would eventually be caught.
“Just because they might have avoided it [detection] today doesn’t mean they will be able to avoid it in a week’s time or a month’s time because social media platforms have to go back and routinely check under-16 accounts,” she said.
Ms Wells added that more than 200,000 TikTok accounts in Australia had already been deactivated.
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New Ofcom data raises UK concerns
Countries around the world are watching Australia’s new ban closely due to concerns social media use among young people could be causing harm.
New Ofcom figures show children in the UK between eight and 14 are spending an average of nearly three hours online each day – often late at night.
According to the data, almost a quarter of time spent by that age group on their four main social media services happened between 9pm and 5am.
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While Ofcom found about 91% of those aged eight to 17 in the UK were happy with their online activity, 70% of 11 to 17-year-olds saw or heard harmful content online over a four-week period.
The data also raises concerns over children spending money online on social media sites, video-sharing platforms or while gaming – with more than half of children aged eight to 17 having done so in the past month.
Around a third of children regretted their in-game purchases and 43% regretted those made on social media.
Alarmingly, some 42% were unclear on what they even were buying in-game.
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Former UK education secretary Lord Nash highlighted earlier this month how social media use seems to often start at an even younger age.
He warned that new analysis by the Centre for Social Justice suggested more than 800,000 UK children aged between three and five were already engaging with social media.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
