Tell your kids not to worry — there’s no legislation in the works to ban under-16s from using social media, a senior government official told EnterpriseAM in response to reports that legislation in the image of Australia’s recent ban was in the works. Some members of parliament have been kicking around the idea, but it hasn’t been discussed by the government, we’re told.

And it doesn’t look like that’s changing anytime soon, with the CIT Ministry instead taking the position that technology should be embraced for all ages in a positive way, our source added. Social media and AI are changing the world and the economy we live in, the source said, so the CIT ministry’s emphasis is on how to foster digital literacy, programming skills, and the use of AI starting as early as age eight.

Government agencies are still keeping an eye out for what our source called “harmful content and uses,” noting that officials will block websites and apps that could cause harm to kids.

In context: The government recently issued the executive regulations for the Personal Data Protection Law, which include clear rules in collecting children’s personal data. The regulations ban the collection of data from children under 15 without parental consent.

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