“We would like to see something very similar introduced and enforced in Europe,” Genetet said. “We absolutely urgently need something to be implemented.”
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is advocating for a minimum age for social media use of a minimum of 15 years, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has launched an EU-wide study into the impact of social media on young people’s mental health.
The Zurich newspaper ran an interview on Thursday with Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, who was accountable for the laws. The article cited a survey showing that 78 percent of Swiss residents consider that children under 16 shouldn’t have access to social media.
“Kangaroo Country has just adopted a bill imposing penalties on social networks that tolerate multi-million-dollar accounts opened by children. asked Australia’s Minister for Communications how and why urgent action was needed. And Michelle Rowland answered us!” it read.
In Russia, the state news agency TASS published an article online announcing that the bill had been approved. He identified that two platforms Australian children would likely not have access to, Instagram and Facebook, have already been blocked and “considered extremist” by the Kremlin.
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One of India’s largest newspapers, a Hindi-language every day, has reported concerns about the regulations, including a warning from Greens senator David Shoebridge that “rural children and the LGBTQ community” might be harmed.
“Many critics have said this law could be difficult to implement. They hoped that the government would conduct another study on this matter that would show how to properly keep children off social media,” the article reads.
The United States has been grappling with the impact of social media on children for several months. Earlier this year, Florida imposed a ban on the use of certain platforms by children under 14, which is now the subject of a constitutional challenge.
In Utah, a 2023 law that banned people under 18 from using social media without parental consent was later invalidated by a federal court.
pointed out that many Australian details, including how social media companies will verify someone’s age, remain unclear.
“One option is to require government-issued ID. Some critics say the personal data of millions of Australians will be targeted by hackers. Rowland said companies must destroy the data and face penalties for misusing it.
In the UK, news outlets followed the debate closely, especially after Labor’s technology secretary, Peter Kyle, said he would consider introducing similar legislation.
“I am committed to using all the tools at our disposal, from monitoring the impact of new regulations, creating more and better evidence, and working with internet safety campaigners and charities, to achieve this goal.”
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