Australia’s ban on social media for minors under the age of 16 has taken effect, with over a million accounts presumably owned by these young users suspended.
00:00Hi there students, it's the Prime Minister here and I wanted to speak to you directly about something very important.
00:07A personal message to kids in Australia from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese himself.
00:13As over a million children and teenagers under the age of 16 have their accounts suspended across 10 popular social media platforms,
00:21including Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.
00:24It's a move that Albanese says will benefit the younger generation.
00:27You'll know better than anyone what it's like growing up with algorithms, endless speeds and the pressure that can come with that.
00:37That's why we've taken this step to support you.
00:40Australia's social media ban, the world's first for teens under 16, took effect on Wednesday.
00:47Albanese says the goal is to take back control over the negative impacts of social media.
00:53And it doesn't stop there.
00:54His administration, said, is looking to ban any alternative platforms once teens get on them.
01:01And he's got support from some citizens and parents.
01:04We'd always regulated media in the public interest.
01:07And I think what the government's trying to do is to return some of the public interest.
01:12That's a good thing because, as I say, there have been harms.
01:16Still, many say it's a blanket ban that doesn't fit everyone.
01:21And it's futile trying to keep kids offline.
01:24When it's a blanket decision, it doesn't take into account the nuance and the variables and people's individual situations.
01:33And frankly, people tend to find a way around bans if they really want to.
01:36Most of these platforms have agreed to comply with Australia's new age restriction by guessing the user's age based on their online activity and selfies,
01:46as well as checking linked documents and bank information as references.
01:51Australia is not the only country that has problems with social media platforms for kids.
01:56In Taiwan, there are also different views on how to protect minors from harmful content.
02:01Like Australia, Taiwan has tried to battle against harmful content on social media.
02:30Lawmakers and civil society groups in Taiwan have called for TikTok to stop collecting personal data from minors and feeding them harmful content.
02:39The government also wrote out a year-long ban on Chinese platform Xiaohongshu due to rampant fraud.
02:46Despite Taiwan and Australia's different approaches, the two countries share a common goal,
02:51to protect the younger generation from online harm.
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