Australia social media ban criticized, applauded in Europe

 Europe reacts to Australia's social

media ban for children under 16

:: London, England

"I feel like people under the age of 16 right now wouldn't know how to live without their phones and social media. Like, it would be a really hard change for them.”

“So I think it's good to have some sort of limitations for younger kids because there's a lot of stuff online which is quite dangerous and scary for young kids to see...”

:: Madrid, Spain

"We are a generation that is called technological for a reason, because social media are part of our lives. I think that we should find another solution rather than prohibit social media.”

:: Rome, Italy

"I think it's difficult but great, it's an initiative that makes a lot of sense in Australia and one that we should bring here to save the next generation from a filter like social media that filters life and doesn't allow you to be completely yourself."

The Australian law passed on Thursday forces tech giants from Instagram and Facebook owner Meta to TikTok to stop minors logging in or face fines of up to A$49.5 million. A trial of methods to enforce it will start in January with the ban to take effect in a year.

The Social Media Minimum Age bill sets Australia up as a test case for a growing number of governments which have legislated or said they plan to legislate an age restriction on social media amid concern about its mental health impact on young people.

The ban faced opposition from privacy advocates and some child rights groups, but 77% of the population wanted it, according to latest polls

https://www.yahoo.com/news/australia-social-media-ban-criticized-221435048.html