Practise your English with our short listening exercises: play the audio, answer the questions, and check the answers at the bottom of the page
Global efforts to regulate children’s social media use are intensifying, with Australia banning under-16s, while other nations are tightening age restrictions and consent laws. Photo: ReutersQuestions
1. Under the new law, how old must someone be to use social media?
A. 13 years old
B. 14 years old
C. 15 years old
D. 16 years old
2. Which of the following can replace “toughest” at the beginning of the podcast?
A. most easy
B. most severe
C. most expensive
D. most popular
3. According to the podcast, which social media account do most children under 13 have?
A. TikTok
B. Facebook
C. Snapchat
D. information not given
4. What is the aim of the study launched in Britain?
A. to find out why children use social media
B. to promote safe social media use among children
C. to understand how smartphones affect children
D. to ban smartphones and social media for children
5. Which country has an Online Safety Act?
A. Britain
B. France
C. Australia
D. Norway
6. What percentage of Norwegian nine-year-olds use social media?
A. no more than 10 per cent
B. less than 30 per cent
C. less than 60 per cent
D. more than 90 per cent
7. What does the Norwegian government want to do?
A. train teachers to use social media in the classroom
B. have a law to set the youngest age for using social media
C. create a new social media platform for teenagers
D. set up an agency to monitor teenagers’ social media use
8. What do teenagers under 15 need to do in France to have a social media account?
A. get their parent’s consent
B. have their own smartphone
C. pass a digital literacy test
D. link their account to their parents’
9. What is one of the recommendations made by the French panel?
A. ban all social media for children
B. limit screen time for children to one hour per day
C. ban cellphones for children under 11
D. parental supervision of all online activity for those under 13
10. If a law has been “enforced”, it is …
A. questioned by some people.
B. ignored by everyone.
C. not yet approved.
D. put in effect.
11. Match the social media laws to the countries mentioned in the podcast. (4 marks)
Law
(a) Ban on phones in classrooms
(b) Individuals must be 13 to use social media without parental permission.
(c) Those aged 13 to 16 need their parents’ permission.
(d) Teens under 14 need permission from their parents.
Country
(i) Netherlands
(ii) Italy
(iii) Belgium
(iv) Germany
Answers
1. D
2. B
3. D
4. C
5. A
6. C
7. B
8. A
9. C
10. D
11. (a) i; (b) iii; (c) iv; (d) ii
Script
Adapted from Reuters
Voice 1: Australia approved a social media ban for children under 16, one of the world’s toughest regulations. The new law approved earlier this month forces tech giants, such as Meta and TikTok, to stop minors from logging in – or they will face fines of up to A$49.5 million, which is about US$31.6 million. A trial of methods to enforce it will start in January, and the ban will take effect in a year.
Voice 2: Social media platforms, including TikTok, Facebook and Snapchat, say people must be at least 13 years old to sign up. Child protection advocates say control is insufficient, however, and official data in several European countries show huge numbers of children under 13 have social media accounts. So what are different countries doing to regulate children’s access to social media?
Voice 1: Britain has no current plans for Australia-style restrictions. But digital minister Peter Kyle has said everything is on the table when it comes to keeping people safe online. He has launched a study to explore the impact of smartphone and social media use on children. The government will be enforcing the Online Safety Act next year. The act was passed in 2023, and it sets stricter standards for social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and TikTok – including appropriate age restrictions.
Voice 2: Last month, the Norwegian government proposed raising the age at which children can consent to the terms required to use social media. The proposal would raise it to 15 years old, from 13 years currently, but parents would still be permitted to sign off on their children’s behalf if they are under the age limit. The government also said it had begun work on legislation to set an absolute legal minimum age limit for social media use, but it was not clear when this might reach parliament. According to the government, half of Norway’s nine-year-olds use some form of social media.
Voice 1: In the European Union, parental consent is required for the processing of personal data for children under the age of 16, though the bloc’s 27 member states can lower that limit to 13. In 2023, France passed a law requiring social platforms to obtain parental consent for minors under 15 to create accounts. However, local media say technical challenges mean it has yet to be enforced. In April, a panel commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron recommended stricter rules, including banning mobile phones for children under 11 and internet-enabled phones for those under 13. It is unclear when new legislation could be adopted and to what extent it would follow the experts’ recommendations.
Voice 2: In Germany, minors between the ages of 13 and 16 are allowed to use social media only if their parents give consent. However, child protection advocates say controls are insufficient, and they have called for existing rules to be better implemented. In 2018, Belgium enacted a law requiring children to be at least 13 years old to create a social media account without parental permission.
Voice 1: While the Netherlands has no laws regarding a minimum age for social media use, the government banned mobile devices in classrooms from January 2024 to reduce distractions. Exceptions apply for digital lessons, medical needs or disabilities. In Italy, children under 14 need parental consent to sign up for social media accounts, but no permission is required from that age upwards.