Australia has become the first country in the world to set an age limit on access to the most popular platforms of our time. The government has banned platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, X, and Facebook, among others, for users under the age of 16. To access them, they must now overcome various age-verification and personal identification barriers.

“The Australian government’s stated objective is to be the first to take a stand and set limits for the major platforms,” explains Liliana Arroyo, researcher at Esade’s Institute for Social Innovation and former director general for Digital Society at the Government of Catalonia, “but it is a regulation with many gaps.”

This new legislation, which has generated significant domestic controversy and placed the country at the center of the public policy debate, aims to reduce screen time and exposure to content harmful to young people’s health. However, with the law already in force, the question is what comes next. Is it truly a solution to the problem, or merely a stopgap?

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Artículo publicado en Esade Do Better