Australia’s social media ban offers a path between excess and inaction

On December 10, Australia began enforcing the world’s strictest social media age rule: platforms must now verify that users are aged 16 or above, or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$33 million), a bold experiment in returning oversight of childhood from Silicon Valley to democratically elected institutions.
The relevant law, passed by the Australian parliament last year, represents more than protectionism or moral panic. It is a deliberate experiment in rebalancing the roles of state,…