The government of Singapore is open to imposing a minimum age for social media use and is in talks with counterparts in Australia about the matter, the city-state’s digital affairs minister said on Tuesday.
Australia in November passed legislation banning people younger than 16 from social networks like Facebook, establishing some of the most stringent internet usage restrictions outside of China. Under those rules, tech companies will be responsible for enforcing the ban, with the threat of fines of up to A$50 million (US$31.4 million) if they fail to take action.
“The stated objective of legislating age limits for social media access is to protect children and youths from its harms,” Rahayu Mahzam, Minister of State for Digital Development and Information, told Singapore’s parliament. “We share the same objective and will continue to study the effectiveness of mandating age limits.”
It remains unclear how platform operators like Meta, the parent of Facebook and Instagram, which has criticised the Australian mandate, will verify ages. Australian authorities have already ruled out the use of official documents like passports due to privacy concerns.
A number of other countries and some US states have attempted to curb children’s access to social media, with limited success.
A Florida bill prohibiting children under 14 from having social media accounts has faced legal challenges, as have moves from states such as Arkansas and Ohio that would require minors to secure parental approval to use social media.
Norway wants to impose a minimum age of 15 on social media use after data showed many children under 13, the current age limit, still use popular platforms.
Singapore, for its part, wants to better understand how to assess violations under any potential rules and where to draw the line if younger users turn to unregulated social platforms, Rahayu said.
“We are engaging our Australian counterparts and social media platforms to understand their views,” she said. “This will help inform our thinking on the next steps.”
