Australia wants to ban children from social media.

Far-reaching legislation announced Thursday would make the platforms that are the lifeblood of many teenagers — among them TikTok — off-limits to anyone under 16.

“Social media is doing harm to our kids, and I’m calling time on it,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared at a news conference. “I’ve spoken to thousands of parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles. They, like me, are worried sick about the safety of our kids online.”

The proposed legislation, which puts Australia at the forefront of regulating social media access for children, would hold platforms accountable for enforcing the new rules, Albanese said. There will be no exemptions for children with parental permission, he said, but neither underage users nor their parents will face punishment for violations.

He said that the legislation would be introduced to the national Cabinet at a meeting Friday and that, if passed by Parliament, the new restrictions would take effect 12 months later.

— The New York Times