There will be no exemptions for children who have parental consent, or who already have accounts.
“The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access,” Albanese said. “The onus won’t be on parents or young people.”
“What we are announcing here and what we will legislate will be truly world leading,” Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said.
Rowland said platforms impacted would include Meta Platforms’ Instagram and Facebook, as well as Bytedance’s TikTok and Elon Musk’s X. Alphabet’s YouTube would likely also fall within the scope of the legislation, she added.
TikTok declined to comment, while Meta, Alphabet and X did not respond to requests for comment.
The Digital Industry Group, a representative body which includes Meta, TikTok, X and Alphabet’s Google as members, said the measure could encourage young people to explore darker, unregulated parts of the internet while cutting their access to support networks.
“Keeping young people safe online is a top priority … but the proposed ban for teenagers to access digital platforms is a 20th Century response to 21st Century challenges,” said DIGI managing director Sunita Bose.
“Rather than blocking access through bans, we need to take a balanced approach to create age-appropriate spaces, build digital literacy and protect young people from online harm,” she added.
France last year proposed a ban on social media for those under 15, though users were able to avoid the ban with parental consent.
The United States has for decades required technology companies to seek parental consent to access the data of children under 13, leading to most social media platforms banning those under that age from accessing their services.
