Page 46 - EW February 2026

Cover Story

EMERGENCY!

BAN BIG TECH MIND BLOWING

INDIA'S CHILDREN & YOUTH

Australia's Online Safety Amendment Act, which makes big tech
companies accountable for registering children under 16 as social
media subscribers, has received global encomiums. Several other
countries are set to enact similar legislation. India needs to urgently
follow suit

Dipta Joshi

O N DECEMBER 10, 2024, AUSTRA- being, triggering anxiety, depression, sleep disruption, body

LIA’S Online Safety Amendment
image issues. “This is about protecting young people — not
(Social Media Age) 28 Bill, tabled
punishing or isolating them — and letting parents know
we’re in their corner when it comes to supporting their chil-
in the House of Representatives on
dren’s health and wellbeing,” said Michelle Rowlands,
November 28, received the assent
of King Charles III in distant Lon-
don and became an Act of Oz’s Par-
Bill in the House of Representatives in November 2024.
Under the Act, digital media companies that own and
liament. As such, Australia became Australia’s Minister of Communications while moving the
the 21st century’s first nation to impose a legal obligation on operate these platforms are directed to use robust latter-
new genre multi-billion transnational social media corpora- day technologies such as age estimation face scans, and ID
tions including Meta, Google, X (formerly Twitter), Snap checks before permitting individuals to sign up as subscrib-
Inc, Byte Dance among others, which own and operate In- ers. Companies that fail to prevent under-16s from starting
ternet enabled instant connectivity social media platforms accounts are liable for penalties of up to Australian $49.5
including Reddit, X, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Kick, million (Rs.318 crore). This tough uncompromising legisla-
Threads, YouTube, Twitch and TikTok to ensure that chil- tion has had the desired outcome. A month after passage of
dren below age 16 are denied access to their social media the Act, corporations owning specified platforms and apps
platforms. have shut down 4.7 million accounts of children under age
The rationale of the prohibition is a wealth of evidence 16 — a huge number given that the total population of Aus-
indicating that distracting children and teens from aca- tralia is 28 million.
demic studies apart, social media addiction is exposing Following suit on January 27, France’s National Assem-
children to risks such as cyberbullying, grooming/online bly approved legislation placing the onus on social media
predation, harassment, and harmful or age-inappropriate corporations to prevent children under-15 from accessing
content adversely impacting their mental health and well- their social media programs and apps. “The brains of our

46 EDUCATIONWORLD FEBRUARY 2026