I have never visited Australia but have known many people that have spent time there. To a person, each enjoyed the land down under.

Australia is a democracy, but they do things differently.  For example, if you are eligible to vote, the law says you must vote.  If you choose not to cast a ballot, you must pay a fine.

Australia is now making world-wide news for a very different reason.  Both houses of  parliament have passed a measure New York Times reporter Victoria Kim describes as “a sweeping ban on social media for children under 16, one of the world’s most comprehensive measures aimed at safeguarding young people from potential hazards online.”

I have read a number of articles and other missives, many from well-credentialed academics, providing data that clearly show social media is harming the youth in America.  On that point, most everyone agrees.

Where academics have not done so well is provide a solution to the problem.  There is no consensus on what the solution, or solutions, might be.

So, is Australia’s solution one the rest of the world should follow?  Time will tell, and the world will be watching closely.

One question I had when reading the headline was how this will work.  How will Australia enforce and police this ban?  After all, young people, in my experience, are normally very good at getting around any roadblocks to technology they want to access.

Based on Times reporter Kim’s story, Australia will not be policing those under 16 or their parents.  Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his government will be looking to enforcement of this law at the level of the social media companies.

According to the Times, failure by those firms to take “reasonable steps” at preventing the under-16 crowd access could be fined up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (about $32 million in U.S. currency) for “systemic failures to implement age requirements.”

The details of how this will all work should be interesting.  Reporter Kim describes the Australian system as a form of “digital carding.”  It is still unclear exactly which social media sites will be covered by this new law.

The whole world will be watching, including America.  If the Aussies have success with this system, will we be next?  We shall see.