Denmark to follow suit after Australia's social media ban for under-16s kicks in
發佈日期: 2025-12-11 20:10
TVB News
Australia has begun enforcing a social media ban for those under 16 years old. Several governments, including Denmark, have signalled they may follow suit.
A day after the world's first social media ban went live, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with schoolchildren in Canberra.
He said: "We know that social media is causing social harm, and one of the issues that I as prime minister get all the time is asked about questions of national security. There is nothing more important than keeping our young Australians safe, now and into the future."
Albanese stressed it was not a reform from the top down as reports say the ban had the backing of some three-quarters of Australian parents.
He said: "Importantly, as we saw yesterday, this is not a reform that has come from the top down. This is not government making a decision and then imposing our will. This is something that has come in particular from parents."
Authorities on Thursday demanded social media giants report progress on how many accounts they have deactivated.
Ten of the biggest platforms, including TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, must bar underage users under the law. They would face a fine of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars, or about 256 million Hong Kong dollars, for not complying.
Following Australia's lead, Denmark seems set to introduce its own social media restriction.
Its government announced it had secured agreement to ban access to social media for anyone under 15.
The Danish digital affairs minister said there is still a consultation process and several readings in parliament before the ban is finally signed into law, which could be by mid to end of next year.
To this, school students in the Nordic country have mixed reactions. A 14-year-old student Chloe said she thinks it's not the youths' responsibility to make sure there's no bad stuff on the internet, it's the government that need to regulate what the young people see.
Malaysia, France, Greece and New Zealand are also planning to restrict preteens to sign up for social media in a bid to grapple with the harmful fallout on internet overuse.
