UK minister visits Australia for ‘lessons’ before expected British social media crackdown

Kanishka Narayan says Australia’s pioneering law has contributed to national conversation under way in Britain Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The UK’s online safety minister says he has spent a week in Australia learning the “practical lessons” of the country’s under-16s social media ban amid concern that many teenagers are bypassing the law. The British government is expected to announce a social media crackdown within weeks after a public consultation that could see the UK follow in Australia’s footsteps and restrict access to social media for teenagers – including age limits or changes to allegedly addictive design features – by the end of this year. Kanishka Narayan spent this week in Australia meeting state and federal government ministers, school students and Australia’s online safety regulator, the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant. The debate over the social media ban in Australia has largely been focused on whether it is actually working. The eSafety commissioner’s own data suggests two-thirds of teenagers under 16 have remained on social media since the ban came i