Australia has passed a social media ban for teens and children under the age of 16, which applies to businesses including Instagram, X and TikTok.
The measure aims to reduce the social damage suffered by young Australians and is expected to enter into force from the end of 2025. The tech giants will be fined up to $49.6 million ($32.5 million) if they don’t follow the rules.
As Statista Anna Fleck reports, the new law was approved Thursday with the support of a majority of the public.
However, the blanket ban has sparked backlash from several children’s rights groups, who warn that it could cut off access to vital support, especially for children from immigrant, LGBTQIA+ and other minority backgrounds.
Critics argue that it could also push children into less regulated areas of the internet.
The new legislation is the strictest of its kind at the national level, and that comes when other countries are grappling with how best to regulate technology in a fast-moving world.
Data from an Ipsos study released earlier this year shows that it’s not just Australians who support a total ban on social media for children and young teenagers.
As can be seen from the next graph, two-thirds of respondents from the 30 countries surveyed said the same…
More infographics can be found at Statista
In France, an even higher percentage of adults (80 percent) believed that children under the age of 14 should not be allowed on social media, either inside or outside of school.
This belief was much less common in Germany (40 percent), which was the only country where the majority did not support the ban.
Feelings about the use of smartphones varied from generation to generation.
While 36 percent of Gen Z said they supported banning smartphones in schools, the figure was much higher among older generations (66 percent of boomers, 58 percent of Gen X, and 53 percent of millennials).)
