Intended to come into force this year, this text was presented on Tuesday, September 10 by the center-left Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. But the measure, difficult to implement, is also criticized by some experts.
Australia is taking the lead. A bill, introduced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, will set the minimum age for using social networks at between 14 and 16 years old. This federal law is due to come into force this year and will notably concern Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, described as “scourge” for young people by the Australian authorities.
«I want to see children away from their screens and [plutôt] on football fields, in swimming pools and on tennis courts“, Anthony Albanese said.We want them to have real experiences with real people because we know social media is hurting society.” he continued on national channel ABC.
Concretely, an age verification test upon connection – the implementation of which remains unclear – should be introduced, after a test which will be carried out in the coming months.
The exact age, 14, 15 or 16, will be determined by the political debates to come. The centre-left Prime Minister has said he personally supports a minimum age of 16. The bill has even won over the conservative opposition led by Peter Dutton, who has given his support to the government.
“Thoughtless” and “reckless”
Australian analysts, for their part, believe that an age limit will not really help young people in social difficulty. For Daniel Angus, professor at the Queensland University of Technology, the project is “imprudent» et «thoughtless” because it comes ahead of the release of a parliamentary inquiry into the effects of social media on Australian society. “This threatens to cause serious harm by excluding young people from meaningful and healthy participation in the digital world.“, the expert continues. The law could redirect many children to “lower quality online spaces” in “removing important means of social connection“, he still laments.
Associate professor of computer science and information technology at the University of Melbourne, Toby Murray, said he was not even sure the technical means to enforce such a limit existed at this time.The government is experimenting with age verification technology. But current methods are already known to be unreliable, too easy to circumvent, or risky to users’ privacy.” he says.
In the same vein, in the United States, a bill setting the minimum age for social media at 13 was presented to the Senate in April by Democratic and Republican legislators. However, no date has been set for its examination. In France, President Emmanuel Macron said in June that he was in favor of banning mobile phones.before 11 years old» and social networks «before 15 years old“But due to the turbulent political events of the summer, with a government still resigning, the matter seems to be at a standstill for the moment.
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