Australia to ban social media for children

No social media until 16 - 23rd September 2024

Australia’s government is making new rules. These rules are about children and social media. It wants to stop children using social media.

Australia’s prime minister is Anthony Albanese. He cares about children. He doesn’t want children on their smartphones. He wants them to play sports.

The government’s thinking about an age limit for the rules. This may be 14, 15 or 16. But how can they check people’s age?

Some computer programs guess people’s age. They use a photo of someone’s face. But the age isn’t always correct.

Some people want a system with official photo ID. Others are worried about children’s privacy.

Meta owns Facebook and Instagram. It doesn’t want apps to check people’s age. It wants smartphones to do this.

There are rules about social media in France and China. These rules try to keep children safe online. But they don’t stop children using social media.