TikTok ban for Aussie teens?

Australia plans to set an age limit on social media users and prevent the platforms from being used before the age of 14 or 16, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The European Union has tried in the past to pass similar measures, but so far they have not succeeded, mainly due to privacy violations and difficulties in verifying the age of users.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his centre-left government would first start a big experiment, followed by a law setting minimum age to use social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

"I want to see the kids off-screen, on the courts, in the swimming pools and in the tennis halls. We want them to have real experiences because we know that social media is causing them harm," Albanese said in an interview.

Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, says in a response that its users' ages are limited to 13 and older, saying they want to "empower" young people to benefit from using the networks and let their parents support them instead of "sharply stopping access."