UN General Assembly: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pitches social media age ban to world leadersZac de SilvaAAPThu, 25 September 2025 4:26AMCommentsComments
Australia’s world-first social media age ban is being promoted to other nations during a jam-packed final day at the United Nations General Assembly.
Anthony Albanese is trying to build an international coalition to clamp down on children’s access to apps such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.
He has been joined by parents who have campaigned for the tougher social media laws, at an event for world leaders in New York City.
On his last full day in the United States, Mr Albanese will again address the United Nations, meet his Sri Lankan counterpart, speak at two climate events and potentially sit down with Turkey’s strongman leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“This will be a really important meeting,” Mr Albanese said of the social media event.
“The globe is looking at this and this isn’t something that’s confined to just Australia,” he told reporters in New York earlier in the week.
Europe is considering introducing similar laws, to bar children under 16 from social media.
But Australia’s age restrictions could cause friction with the US, where many major online platforms are based.
The White House has raised concerns about other laws cracking down on tech giants’ use of Australian news content.
The issue could be discussed when Mr Albanese sits down with US President Donald Trump, having secured a meeting for October after months of back-and-forth.
The Oval Office talks were announced after Mr Albanese briefly met the president at a reception for world leaders on Wednesday..
The pair posed for a selfie, which Mr Albanese posted on social media.
The meeting in October would be significant but potentially risky, given the tongue-lashing other world leaders have received during White House talks, Australian Strategic Policy Institute Senior Fellow Mark Watson said.
“Anything other than abject humiliation would be a success,” he told AAP.
Mr Watson, who spent 33 years at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including a stint in Australia’s US embassy, said the prime minister would likely seek reassurances from Mr Trump on the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal.
The US is reviewing the three-country agreement, which includes the UK, to ensure it is in keeping with Mr Trump’s “America First” agenda.
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