Insta and TikTok only from the age of 16?Australia wants social media ban for children
The Australian government has announced that it will introduce a law banning social media services for anyone under the age of 16. The reason given for this plan is the potential negative impact on the physical and mental development of young social media users. It is not yet clear exactly which platforms are to be considered "social media". The Australian government emphasizes that the law should primarily hold the platforms responsible and not children and their parents. For example, no penalties are envisaged for young people who disregard this ban. But there is for platforms on which children and young people are active. It is also unclear which age verification system should be used to effectively check the age at registration.
The Australian Human Rights Commission, among others, has expressed concerns about the proposed legislation. If a complete ban is implemented, this could be a violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This guarantees children the right to protection from danger, but also, for example, the right to access information, freedom of expression and the right to culture, leisure and play. In its statement, the Australian Human Rights Commission concludes: "There are less restrictive alternatives to better protect children and young people from online dangers without having such a significant negative impact on their human rights" (translation by klicksafe).
In Germany, there is currently no legal regulation on the minimum age for social media services. The services themselves stipulate a minimum age in their terms of use, which is usually 13 years. However, this is currently not effectively checked during registration.
What risks are there in social media services?
The dangers of many social media platforms can be grouped into four categories. The examples given are intended to illustrate what can fall into these categories. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list and many other risks are conceivable.
- Content risks: Confrontation with content that is harmful to minors and harmful to their development, which can be uploaded to the platforms without being checked, e.g. pornographic, violent or extremist images or videos.
- Contact risks: Sexual harassment, initiation of sexual abuse(cybergrooming) or blackmail with sexual images online(sextortion).
- Behavioural risks: Cyberbullying, hate speech, sexualized self-presentation, radicalization, problematic role models, glorification of eating disorders, participation in dangerous challenges, excessive use.
- Consumer risks: Fake stores, manipulative advertising and influencer marketing.
What fascinates children and young people about social media?
Although there are a number of potential dangers, young people also experience social media services as positive and enriching:
- Social relationships: Young people use social media services to stay in touch with their friends or meet new people from the social media community with similar interests.
- Expressing themselves: By creating media content (e.g. photos or videos), young people can develop their creativity and communicate with other people.
- Get informed: On the one hand, young people obtain information on current affairs from social media services. On the other hand, they can also find information about their specific interests (e.g. gaming or music), which is not covered by conventional news portals.
- Identity development: Young people also use social media to develop their own identity and try out different roles. They can explore their own interests and follow their role models.
How can parents supervise their children on social media?
Strict legal requirements, such as the European Union's Digital Services Act, mean that social media providers are obliged to offer parental guidance functions for minors. These tools give parents more insight and control over their children's usage behavior and allow them to take supportive measures if necessary.
In the following, we present platform-specific options for accompanying minors on the services. These only apply if the correct age was specified during account registration. Such technical options can never be the only measures for safe media use. It is important that parents continue to actively supervise their children, i.e. regularly discuss their online experiences and set rules. Technical measures for the protection of children and young people in the media are therefore no substitute for media education, but only complement it.
Parental control
Parental control allows parents to link their own account with their child's account. This allows them to monitor their child's usage time on Facebook and view their friends list and individual account settings. Break times can be set up to prevent excessive use.
→ Guidance from Media Childproof
Parental supervision
On Instagram, parents can also link their account to that of their child, view their child's usage time and set time limits. They can also check the accounts that the child follows and the accounts that follow the child. Parents also receive notifications about activities, for example when a new account follows the child.
→ Instructions from Media Parental Control
Instagram has also introduced so-called teen accounts, which will also be available in Europe in 2025. These contain extended control options for parents.
Snapchat
Snapchat Family Center
The Snapchat Family Center gives parents insights into their children's Snapchat usage. They can see who their child is friends with and who they are communicating with, although the content of the conversations cannot be viewed. This function is available for children and young people aged 13 to 18.
→ Instructions from Media Parental Control
TikTok
Supervised mode
TikTok offers supervised mode, in which parents or guardians can set the child's usage time. They have the option of regulating who the child contacts, whether they can search for content and whether videos can be displayed for adults.
→ Instructions for child-safe media
YouTube
Parental control
By activating parental control, parents have the option to choose from content settings for older children and young people. The videos are filtered and displayed by age group.
→ Instructions from Media Parental Control
Discord
Family Center
The Family Center allows parents to track their children's activities by providing insights into the communities or servers to which the child belongs.
Further information on the topic of social media at klicksafe
You can find many more tips on individual social media apps, media education and technical youth media protection on our topic pages:
klicksafe offers a wide range of brochures and flyers on the topics of social media use and safety. We have put together a small selection here. But you are also welcome to browse through our materials systemto find suitable offers for you.
