Australia plans to strengthen under-16s social media ban

Anthony Albanese told Australia’s parliament on Thursday that his government was considering options to strengthen the ban

Research suggests the social media ban for under-16s in Australia is failing (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)

The Australian government plans to strengthen laws that ban children younger than 16 from social media platforms, the country’s prime minister has said.

Observers said on Friday the government was responding to evidence that the ban on young children holding accounts on platforms including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube had failed since it came into force on December 10 last year. Australia was the first country in the world to pass legislation keeping children off social media, but others have since followed.