Australia's big social (media) experiment

Australia's big experiment, a ban on social media use for under-16s, has kicked off today. Over the next weeks and months, efficacy of the law passed a year ago to ostensibly protect children and early teenagers from online bullying and potential predators, and to reduce teen anxiety, will be tested. Coming as this prohibition does in a liberal society like Australia and with reported parental approval, this is a test case worth taking note of without bias.

In legally raising the minimum age for having a social media account to 16, the law shifts responsibility of keeping children safe from parents and guardians to tech companies providing social media services like TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Threads. A hefty Aus$49.5 mn fine is expected to ensure that these companies take the ban seriously. But it's less clear whether the ban, even if implemented successfully, can, indeed, improve children safety and well being. The ban targets the online spaces, but does little to improve how people behave in them. Teenagers will expectedly flock to apps like WhatsApp, Discord, Messenger, Pinterest and Roblox that are outside the law's purview, where toxic behaviour that resulted in the law could migrate to new perches. There are already instances of minors setting up fake accounts, while two teenagers are taking the government to court challenging the law.

Another option could be to require social media platforms to better police harmful content, limit the power of algorithms, and create some levers of control that give parents and guardians more control. Simultaneously ensuring children are better equipped to deal with dangers of online engagement, and are able to find support when encountering unsafe online behaviour.