Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has met with former Apple CEO Tim Cook who described the Australian Government’s moves to protect youth online as “world-leading”.
Since Australia introduced the social media ban for children under 16 back in December, it has captured the attention of other countries, who are now moving to adopt a similar strategy.
“Tim Cook gave us a lot of time this morning. He regards the work that we have done on social media to be world-leading,” Albanese told a press gathering at Apple Park in Cupertino.
It was great to welcome @AlboMP to Apple Park this morning to talk about the incredible work of our teams and our longstanding commitment to Australia. I was grateful to share some of our newest innovations, including strong and intuitive controls to help keep kids safe online. pic.twitter.com/EQKmIkP3uC
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 19, 2026
The visit by the Prime Minister to Apple Park coincided with the release of new parental controls on Apple’s latest software update.
They give parents even more granular control of what their child can see online, which apps they can use as well as imposing time limits on usage.
The Prime Minister spent 45 minutes in a closed-door meeting with Tim Cook, now Executive Chairman at Apple.
Cook reportedly told Albanese that his social media age ban and Apple’s own studies into how social media can affect children is fast-tracked the parental control changes and upgrades that are now part of iOS 27.
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Ironically, Prime Minister Albanese and Tim Cook took to social media to share the news of their meeting.
On X, Tim Cook posted: “It was great to welcome
@AlboMP to Apple Park this morning to talk about the incredible work of our teams and our longstanding commitment to Australia. I was grateful to share some of our newest innovations, including strong and intuitive controls to help keep kids safe online.”
On Instagram Albanese shared a picture taken with Tim Cook and said: “We’re putting stronger rules in place to keep Australians safe online. But we can’t do it alone.
“And now, big tech companies like Apple are stepping up too. They’re following Australia’s lead and introducing new protections that give parents more control over what their kids see, who they talk to and the apps they use.
“Because we all have a responsibility to make the online world safer for our kids.”
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Albanese shared a second post including a selfie with Tim Cook and added: “We all have a responsibility to make the online world safer for our kids.
“It’s a belief Tim Cook and I share.
“Today at Apple HQ, we spoke about what we’re doing to protect children from online harm and the work ahead.”
