Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Praise Australia’s ‘Bold, Decisive Action’ to Ban Social Media for Kids

Australia has introduced a new law banning children under 16 from owning or using accounts on major social media platforms, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle couldn’t be happier about it. The longtime advocates for social media safety issued a statement on this new law — and shared what they believe needs to happen next to protect our kids.

What Is the Ban?

In case you missed it, the social media ban in Australia is known as the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 and includes platforms Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, YouTube, Reddit, and more. It was passed last year and went into effect on Dec. 10. Australia is the first country to introduce a blanket social media ban like this.

Some people are against the ban and have argued that it won’t be effective and could push children to more unregulated or underground platforms (or just encourage them to lie about their age). Others worry that this will negatively impact kids’ social bonds.

Meghan & Harry’s Statement

The Sussexes like the thought process behind the ban, but believe we all need to do more to protect our kids online.

In a statement on their Archewell Foundation website, Harry and Megan wrote in part, “We celebrate Australia’s leadership for seeing and acting on how these technology companies are negatively impacting young people with little to no recourse or accountability, and feeble efforts from the companies to stem the flow of harms. This bold, decisive action to protect children at a critical moment in their development sends a strong signal that a child’s mind is not a commodity to be exploited.”

However, there is still much work to be done. “It buys young people valuable time back in their childhoods, but it doesn’t fix the fundamental issue we all still face with social media platforms,” the statement continued. “Here’s the truth: the ban is an effective measure to stop imminent harm, but ultimately only works as a band aid that does not address tech’s broken design and exploitive business incentives, requiring us to protect young people in the first place.”

Later, Meghan and Harry recognized some of the value that social media has. “These platforms have immense potential for good, connection, and hope,” they said. “But when there’s no option to opt out of the harms, the very lifeline they might depend on, can become the very thing that kills them.”

“We’ve heard from too many grieving parents,” they continued. “Too many families devastated by cyberbullying, feeds that radicalize kids toward self-harm, and algorithmic manipulation designed to maximize engagement at any cost. There is too much loss of life and livelihood. Children currently have no right to privacy and no expectation of safety, and they’ve been hooked.”

They added, “We hope this ban is only the start of a reckoning between society and the tech companies that built these platforms with growth as their first principle instead of safety. … We look forward to the next step to hold tech accountable for its design choices and hope leaders of new technologies learn the lessons of failing to prioritize the well-being of young people. The world is watching to see if they’ll finally take responsibility and make the changes the world so desperately need.” (Read their full statement HERE.)

Previous Advocacy Work

This isn’t the first time Meghan and Harry have called for more social media protections. In 2023, the couple appeared at the Project Healthy Minds’ World Mental Health Day Festival, where they spoke on a panel titled “Mental Wellness in the Digital Age.”

“Being a mom is the most important thing in my entire life — outside, of course, being a wife to this one,” she said, gesturing to Harry. “But I will say I feel fortunate that our children are at an age, again quite young, so this isn’t in our immediate future, but I also feel frightened at how it’s continuing to change and this will be in front of us.”

 The As Ever founder added, “Everyone is affected by the online world and social media. We all just want to feel safe. I’m confident that with more ears and awareness and visibility of what is really happening, we can make some significant change together.”

Both Sussexes thanks parents at the panel who experienced tragic loss connected to their child’s social media use. At one point, Prince Harry said, “I think for us, for myself and my wife, with kids growing up in a digital age, the priority here is to again turn pain into purpose and provide as much support as well as a spotlight and a platform for these parents to come together, to heal, to grieve and to also collectively focus on solutions so that no other family anywhere has to go through what they’ve been through.”

In 2022, Prince Harry joined the 5Rights Foundation in a Global Child Online Safety Toolkit webinar to talk about tech companies’ responsibility to families. “As parents, my wife and I are concerned about the next generation growing up in a world where they are treated as digital experiments for companies to make money and where things like hatred and harm are somehow normalized,” he said. “We want our children and all children to feel empowered to speak up.”

He added, “I’m not an expert on law or technology, but I am a father — and I’m lucky enough to be a father with a platform. My kids are too young to have experienced the online world yet, and I hope they never have to experience it as it exists now. No kid should have to.”

Before you go, check out everything we know about Princess Lilibet and the alleged controversy around her name.