Australia Implements Groundbreaking Ban on Social Media for Kids Under 16

Mon Nov 24 2025 11:27:17 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Starting December 10, Australia will enforce a unique law prohibiting children under 16 from accessing major social media platforms, aiming to protect their mental health and wellbeing.

In a world-first initiative, Australia will ban social media access for children under 16, effective December 10. The government requires platforms to implement age verification measures to prevent underage users from setting up or maintaining accounts. This dramatic move responds to rising concerns about children experiencing harmful content and behaviors online, and aims to ease parental worries about the pressures faced by today’s youth. As companies prepare for the enforcement, questions remain regarding its implementation and potential loopholes.

From 10 December, social media companies will have to take 'reasonable steps' to ensure that under-16s in Australia cannot set up accounts on their platforms and that existing accounts are deactivated or removed.

The government says the ban - a world-first policy popular with many parents - is aimed at reducing the 'pressures and risks' children can be exposed to on social media, which come from 'design features that encourage them to spend more time on screens, while also serving up content that can harm their health and wellbeing'.

A study commissioned by the government earlier this year said 96% of children aged 10-15 used social media and that seven out of 10 of them had been exposed to harmful content and behaviour. This behaviour ranged from misogynistic material to fight videos and content promoting eating disorders and suicide.

One in seven also reported experiencing grooming-type behaviour from adults or older children, and more than half said they had been the victims of cyberbullying.

The Australian government has so far named ten platforms to be included in the ban: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit and streaming platforms Kick and Twitch. It is also under pressure to expand the ban to online gaming. Fearing they may be targeted, gaming platforms such as Roblox and Discord have recently introduced age checks on some features in an apparent bid to ward off inclusion in the ban.

Children and parents will not be punished for infringing the ban - it is social media companies who are charged with enforcing it, and they face fines of up to $49.5m (US$32m, £25m) for serious or repeated breaches.

Without a clear idea of what methods companies will be using, it's hard to say whether the social media ban will be effective - but concerns have been raised that age assurance technologies may wrongly block some users while failing to spot others who are underage. The government's own report found that facial assessment technology, for example, is least reliable for the exact demographic it's needed to target.

Critics have also raised concerns about the large-scale collection and storage of data that will be required, and its potential mishandling, as platforms try to verify users' ages.

Social media companies have expressed that the ban would be difficult to implement and could drive children into dark corners of the internet. However, they are preparing to comply with these new regulations ahead of the official enforcement date.

Overall, as Australia sets this precedent, it will be closely observed by other nations considering similar measures to safeguard children's online experiences.