The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have reacted to Australia's social media ban for under-16s, calling it "bold, decisive action to protect children at a critical moment in their development," but adding that the ban "only works as a band aid".
Prince Harry and Meghan have been passionate about online safety, for children and young people, and in 2024, they launched The Parents' Network, which aims to provide a safe and free support network for parents whose children have been harmed by social media.
The ban came into force on 10 December, with Australia's safety Commissioner (the government's independent online safety regular), saying that the restrictions "aim to protect young Australians from pressures and risks that users can be exposed to while logged in to social media accounts". Social media platforms must enforce the ban - not children or their parents - and platforms could face fines of up to A$49.5m (£24.5m) for serious or repeated breaches.
In a statement shared on their Archewell Foundation website, the Duke and Duchess said: "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.
"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."
© AFP via Getty ImagesThe statement went on to describe the ban as an "effective measure," but added that it "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".
The Sussexes recognise that social media can be a force for good, emphasising that it can be a "genuine lifeline" for LGBTQ+ young people and those suffering mental health emergencies.
© Getty Images"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," it added.
Harry and Meghan shared their hope that the 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".
"Pressing issue of our time"
In October, Harry and Meghan travelled to New York where they were honoured as Humanitarians of the Year at Project Healthy Minds' World Mental Health Day gala for their work with online safety for parents and children.
They also attended a series of panel discussions on World Mental Health Day, where Harry warned that the impact of social media on children is "one of the most pressing issues of our time".
© Variety via Getty ImagesThe Duke also appeared on the Hasan Minhaj Doesn't Know podcast in which he shared that he and Meghan have had difficult conversations surrounding their children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's future on social media.
"We talk about it a lot," he said. "I think that because of what we know now, we will be way more cautious and hesitant of allowing our kids to have access to social media, but the problem is, so many parents don't have that awareness.
© Rob Kim/Getty Images for Project Healthy Minds"Because in no logical, fair, ethical, moral world, should a parent have to consider this app, that sits on the phone - which by the way, having a phone for your kid is a really important thing - but the moment that you give them the gateway to everything else, kids will be kids."
