Australia moves towards a total ban on social media for children under 16; American lawmakers should take note.
An ever-growing body of research shows that these substances are toxic to children’s mental health, but it is almost impossible for parents to control their behavior when it becomes a central part of all socialization.
The Australian approach does not consist of penalizing children or parents, but of holding the platforms responsible for real control.
Companies like TikTok, Instagram, X and Facebook would have a year to figure out how to make this happen.
And while no barrier is foolproof, an international rush to copy the Australians would also not incentivize these companies to make their products particularly addictive for children – as many of them clearly do today.
Make a profit from these algorithmsrisk instead of profit maximization, this would go a long way toward countering the poison alone.
Of course, the tech giants will spend big to dismiss the Australian proposal, but popular demand is starting to win out, as with the US law to force the sale of TikTok and Governor Hochul’s desire to enact the first social law of the country. media protections – New York’s Children’s Privacy Laws and the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation laws – were signed into law this spring.
There is no problem under the US Constitution: we are talking about minors, not adults, and US courts have long allowed the regulation of commercial speech.
It’s also not about giving government officials the power to censor: it’s a content-neutral ban.
At the very least, US lawmakers should start the debate, so that people like Instagram now become aware of the detoxification of their products.
