Australia Bans Children Under 16 From Using Social Media, South Africans Want the Same Law Passed
- Australia recently passed a law banning youngsters from using social media apps
- Under the law, children under the age of 16 will be banned from creating social media accounts
- South Africans weighed in on the idea and want it implemented in the country as well
Source: Getty Images
Everyone is talking about Australia at the moment.
The country has passed a new law that will come into effect next year, and it has drawn both criticism and praise.
Under the new law, children under 16 will be banned from setting up social media accounts on sites like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.
Lawyer questions the aim of the ban
Commercial lawyer Richard Anthony Chemaly recently discussed the possibility of implementing a similar ban in South Africa.
Chemaly said that tech giants had themselves to blame as they never seriously tried to keep the platforms safe for children.
He added that many kids took advantage of the fact that their parents didn’t understand technology to have free reign on social media.
He further stated that if youngsters wanted to do things on the Internet, no law would be able to stop them.
“How long do you think it will take 14-year-old Aussies to find a workaround to keep them on TikTok?” he asked.
Could it work in South Africa?
Turning his attention locally, Chemaly questioned how it would work.
“If we could easily buy booze, and cigarettes as teenagers all over the world, how would any government keep us offline in 2024?”
He added that nothing would be more impressive than eliminating the toxicity on social media in South Africa, but getting rid of social media was not the solution.
“The toxicity is already there. Taking away the platform where it manifested doesn’t rid us of the problem. If anything, it will just create new markets for it to thrive,” he said.
South Africans share their thoughts
Social media users weighed on the law and whether South Africa should also ban social media for youngsters.
@MELORSA3 said:
“I think it's for the better so they can focus on things like schoolwork or sports.”
Delta Delta added:
“Ban phones from schools. And they shouldn't have access to sites that are no good. No wonder there are school children raping girls.”
Another user stated:
“South Africa should stop worrying about what people do in their private life as long as it is not illegal.
"They should worry about fixing this mess of a country that the ANC created where rubbish is not collected, streetlights are not working, and potholes are everywhere. We live in filthy towns, and you all are worried about social media.”
Mthizozo Thakadu added:
“Ban phones from schools. No primary or high school students should have a phone on them.”
@Dylan822 said:
“Ban under 16s from all social media platforms in South Africa.”
@Bikomfident stated:
“This is so important, man. South Africa needs to ban young kids from social media. We need to save the future.”
Youngster nominated for social media award
Briefly News previously reported that kid influencer Sbahle Mzizi was nominated for the South African Social Media Awards (SASMA).
The young star recently shared a picture of her being nominated for the Social Media Kid Influencer of The Year.
One of the SASMA's sponsors, Weza Matomane, exclusively shared with Briefly News the criteria they used to nominate all the influencers.
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Source: Briefly News
