Anthony Albanese announced on Thursday the Federal Government had agreed on Monday to introduce a minimum age for social media access.

“Social media is doing harm to our kids, and I’m calling time on it,” he said.

The prime minister said the proposal would go to a virtual meeting of the nation’s leaders on Friday.

“The onus will be on social media platforms to demonstrate they are taking reasonable steps to prevent access,” he said.

“The onus won’t be on parents or young people. There will be no penalties for users.”

He said the eSafety Commissioner will provide oversight and enforcement, with the legislation to kick in 12 months after it passes parliament.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland described the proposed laws as world leading.

“At arriving at this age, the Government has taken a pragmatic approach,” she said.

“What our approach does is helps to achieve a balance between minimising those harms that are caused by young people accessing social media, while still enabling connection and inclusion.”

While Girl Geek Academy is all for protecting kids online, it says the ban plan “makes about as much sense as banning electricity to stop kids watching TV”.

The Government will introduce privacy protections for information collected for age assurance purposes.

Meanwhile, social enterprise Girl Geek Academy, which is dedicated to achieving gender equality in the technology industry, has slammed the decision, and queried exactly what the definition of social media is in 2024.

“As digital educators, we’re all for protecting kids online. But maybe before we start swinging the ban hammer, we should figure out what we’re actually banning,” a statement from the organisation posed.

“Because right now, this plan makes about as much sense as banning electricity to stop kids watching TV.”

While the organisation acknowledged platforms such as Instagram and TikTok are obvious, many others are less so.

“... is it also your kid’s Year 7 Zoom class? Their Xbox party chat while playing Fortnite? The WhatsApp group where Nanna sends homework help? The GitHub repo where your daughter’s class is collaborating on their first open-source project?

“Here’s the kicker – try telling a 15-year-old they can’t use YouTube to learn coding, or share their favourite bands with friends on Spotify, or Scratch to share their first game with classmates,” the statement read.

And then tell their teachers the kids can’t use these tools in the classroom, it continued.

“Spoiler alert: these are all ‘social media’ platforms.”

(with AAP)