Lincoln legal expert weighs in as Australia bans social media for kids under 16
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — In Australia, the scrolling stops for those under the age of 16.
The country is now making it illegal for kids to use social media before that age. A move leaders call “critical” to protecting children from online harm.
“I mean, you get on YouTube nowadays, and you’re just going through YouTube shorts, and you’re seeing videos of 10-year-olds, 9-year-olds doing random stuff, and it’s like you should not be on here doing stuff when it’s visible to the whole world,” said father of four, Chris Szydelko.
But in the United States, any ban like this would face an immediate legal wall.
“First of all, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that this could happen in the United States. I think it’s a type of law that wouldn’t hold up if it were challenged,” said associate professor of law Kyle Langvardt. “With that being said, I think it would be a tougher road in the United States than Australia just because the United States has such a strong First Amendment tradition.”
Szydelko said he’s looking at this from all angles, which could be frustrating, but also very real.
“Me being a ’90s baby, anyone around my age would understand too, because when we grew up, you hopped on Facebook and MySpace during that social media war, because you didn’t want to send a text message and have your parents get upset with that new bill coming in,” he said.
Others worry a ban could push kids to even riskier parts of the internet.
“There are a lot of states right now that are enacting age-appropriate design codes, and in fact, Nebraska did something like this recently,” Langvardt said. “Requiring platforms to pay attention to this question of addictive design if they have minors using the site.”
Meanwhile, supporters said Australia’s approach could save lives, limit bullying, and reduce addiction.
“What the fear is, they put anything on there,” Szydelko said. “I mean, these kids do it to each other too, they get mad at one kid or another, they’re going to put that person’s address on there.”
