UK minister visits Australia for ‘lessons’ ahead of expected British social media crackdown

The UK’s online safety minister says he has spent a week in Australia learning the “practical lessons” of the country’s under-16s social media ban amid concern that many teenagers are bypassing the law. The British government is expected to announce a social media crackdown within weeks after a public consultation that could see the UK follow in Australia’s footsteps and restrict access to social media for teens – including age limits or changes to allegedly addictive design features – by the end of this year. Kanishka Narayan spent this week in Australia meeting state and federal government ministers, school students and Australia’s online safety regulator, the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant. The debate over the social media ban in Australia has largely been focused on whether it is actually working. The eSafety commissioner’s own data suggests two-thirds of teens under 16 have remained on social media since the ban came into effect in December. Five companies – Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook – are under investigation for non-compliance with the ban. Narayan told the Guardian that Australia had been a “pioneer” in the space, and the UK would learn from its lead. “One benefit of going second is that we learn some practical implementation lessons,” he said. Narayan said if the UK government chose to limit platforms it would need to determine which ones were in and out, and what were the most effective ways of assuring ages of users. …