Australia poised to ban social media access for under-16s

Some have already called it on social media the Australian breakaway. But only to suggest that it won't work. The news, however, had been known for some time. As promised, the Sydney government is preparing to introduce an unprecedented law to ban access to social media by those under 16. It is the first time that a government stake has been set that actually wants to prevent teenagers from being able to use X, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and the whole galaxy of social platforms. The signature is that of the prime minister. Anthony Albanese said yesterday that the legislation will be introduced in the final two weeks of Parliament for the year beginning 18 November and will come into force 12 months after becoming law. "It is time to say enough is enough: social media is hurting our kids," Albanese told a press conference. He emphasised that the excessive use of social networks represents a danger to mental health in particular, with harmful repercussions both for girls, who are exposed to unrealistic ideals of beauty, and boys, who may be exposed to misogynistic content.

How will it work in practice? Australia is reportedly testing an innovative age verification system to prevent minors from creating accounts on social platforms. This control mechanism, the strictest in the world, includes the use of advanced methods such as biometrics and government identification, with the aim of strictly enforcing the age limit. Social bigwigs will now have a year to figure out how to exclude Australian children under the age of 16. Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, has already said it is ready to cooperate. And it won't be the only one.

In recent years, social networking platforms have been in the crosshairs, or rather have become the subject of investigations by numerous regulatory bodies, particularly in Europe and the United States. In the US in particular, last year alone 41 states accused Meta of using technologies and methods on its social networks to create addiction. At the beginning of October, 15 states, also in the US, turned to TikTok this time with accusations of damaging the mental health of young people. At the heart of the complaints and investigations is whether social media bigwigs have put in place gambling-like mechanisms to push users to spend more time on the platforms. Actually, for the past couple of years, Meta and the other social networks have moved accordingly by including technologies, systems and policies to reduce the use of social media among minors. Unlike other countries, however, Australia is the first to set a higher age limit and does not grant exceptions for parental consent.

On the appropriateness of banning minors' access to social networks, the consensus of psychologists, educators and pedagogues is broad and unanimous. It is also supported by scientific literature. A recent study conducted by the Centro Benessere Digitale (Digital Wellbeing Centre) of the University of Milan-Bicocca, focuses on the impact of early and intensive use of social networks on young people. In particular, the study shows a negative correlation between early access to technologies and school results. Early adopters', i.e. children who start using social networks before the fifth grade, showed poorer school performance, with a drop of about one point in eighth grade exam grades compared to peers who started later or did not use them at all. This is correlation and not cause-and-effect, but the figure gives pause for thought.

The real doubts centre on the methods of prohibition. Biometric detection systems exist, as do artificial intelligence systems to deduce the age of the user. One wonders, however, whether the answer to what is also a cultural issue must necessarily lie in technologies that by their very nature can be circumvented. The Australian breakaway also risks being a one-man race