Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to introduce legislation to prohibit children under a certain age from using social media. Albanese made this announcement in a TV interview on the Australian Broadcasting Corp. (ABC), stating that the government would begin testing age verification technology this year. While he did not specify the exact age limit, he indicated that he would like the ban to apply to children under 14-16 years old due to the negative social impact of social media. In response, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, highlighted that their platforms already have a minimum age requirement of 13 and emphasized the importance of empowering young users with parental controls rather than complete restriction. Lawmakers in the US and other countries have also considered implementing age restrictions on social media, with some states like Utah enacting laws requiring parental consent and ID verification for teens to access their accounts. Additionally, concerns about the mental health implications of social media use have led to calls for health warnings on platforms similar to those required on cigarette packaging, as supported by US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and a group of 42 US attorneys general.
