Australian Parliament passes world-first law banning social media for under-16s

#asutralia #parliament #technology #socialmedia #news

[nomisunrider]

Honestly I don’t think it’ll do much to actually stop the kids but it will stop companies from making predatory ads and that’s worth it.

[mondo_stunts]

Didn’t get social media till I was 18 and it definitely was a lot more chill back 16 years ago

[Please_Dont_Call_It_Frisco]

Go Australia! Social media offers little benefit to kids, if any at all.

[MRWAXMAN]

Start getting outside kids just like in the old days😂

[timbentley]

That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard the parent should regulate their kids, not the government.

[Cucumberflavoredmustard]

This is the parents' job, not the government's.

[mountbara]

What happened to parental responsibility? Social media will simply not serve Australia any more.

[esleyhardin]

Willful ignorance does not equate to safety, nor will it impede the exposure of “harmful content” these younger humans will, most certainly, be subjected to regardless of laws passed, because the content is still there and the access is readily available. Will they take away the internet entirely?!

Don’t see how this is helpful in the long run

[Havocpsi]

How about no government involvement on how i raise my kids. Also it's the parents responsibility to keep there kids in check

[mikegray]

Australians love giving more power to their government

[Riomojo]

Oh no, now they will have to lie about their age for the first time!

[Jagoff]

P-a-r-e-n-t-i-n-g is necessary, not new laws. It’s ridiculous to put the control aspect on the social media outlets.

[davidnelson]

It's not the government's place it is the parents responsibility to govern what their children do in this application. If they can "ban" social media to one age group they can ban it in another. This is government over reach big time.

[nativesugarshack]

Benjamin Franklin: “They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

[apshirley]

This is honestly incredible. The world was a much better place without it. As humans we weren’t made to handle all this dopamine we get from the internet in general. The smartphone period is the worst thing to ever happen to society as well.

[TommyBo]

While I agree with the spirit of this law, let's actually think about the practicality. How does this get enforced? You mean when a teenager sees "Are you 16?" they will be honest and say "No" if they aren't? Is there going to be a special task force with the police that are going to validate every account? And if you find an 11 year old on social media, what are ya gonna do? Arrest them? The solution to the epidemic facing our children begins with the parents, not the children. The parents need to change how they raise their kids.

[Kuzey]

I am not a fan of social media nor its effects on youth, but this is where I draw the line. This is the parents' job.

[chinese_bot]

If this had happened during the MySpace days, there would’ve been a massive uproar. Now people are practically begging for this.

Crazy how times have changed, doubt anyone would’ve expected the ramifications of social media.

[sethfericks]

Increasing responsibility on tech companies and parents to monitor what their kids view, while at the same time not imposing legislation on free speech. Very wise move. Let's do something like this in the states 👏

Edit: There is a difference between children and adults. Children do not have the same rights as adults. Just like how movies rated R are restricted for young viewers; there are things on social media that should not be seen by youth for the sake of their proper development.

[GooseAssassin]

Next thing you know, they will be banning firearms.