SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia mentioned on Tuesday it deliberate to introduce laws this yr to ban youngsters from utilizing social media platforms, citing the dangers it might pose to bodily and psychological well being.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mentioned his centre-left authorities would start an age verification trial over the following few months.

“I want to see kids off their devices and onto the footy fields and the swimming pools and the tennis courts. We want them to have real experiences with real people because we know that social media is causing social harm,” Albanese advised nationwide broadcaster ABC Information.

He didn’t specify the age limits for the ban however mentioned he was “looking at the range between 14 and 16.”

Albanese mentioned he was involved concerning the impacts of cyber bullying on the psychological well being of youngsters and the simple publicity to content material on social media that might hurt them.

The transfer comes after Australia’s eSafety regulator in July requested web corporations to return up with an enforceable code detailing the way it will cease youngsters seeing pornography and different inappropriate materials, or face having a code imposed on the business.

A number of international locations have been making an attempt to limit social media use by minors however authorized challenges and expertise, corresponding to digital personal networks that disguise places, have hampered efforts by governments.

“This is a global issue that governments around the globe are trying to deal with … we know that it’s not simple and it’s not easy, otherwise governments would have responded before,” Albanese mentioned.