Social Media Bans Aren’t Enough to Make Children Safe

What happened

His reaction captured the central challenge behind the growing wave of youth social media bans: Removing access is one thing; understanding what those platforms mean in children’s lives is another. Indonesia’s child safety framework, which took effect in March, bars children under 16 from holding accounts on “high-risk” platforms.

Indonesia’s child-safety framework, which took effect in March, bars children under 16 from holding accounts on “high-risk” platforms. Even before France approved legislation banning social media for children under 15 last January, 13-year-old Benjamin was already wondering what life without social media would look like.

he joked in an interview for Le Monde . Within weeks of Australia’s similar ban , the country’s eSafety Commissioner reported that platforms had restricted access to 4.7 million under-16 accounts. Governments are moving ahead without answering that question as they follow Australia’s lead.