Australia Introduces Ban on Under-16s Using Social Media

Australia is set to become the first major democracy to ban children under 16 from using popular social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. The new rule, which takes effect on December 10, is part of a strong national push to protect young people from online harm, including cyberbullying and harmful content.

Under the law, social media companies will be required to block all users under 16 from creating or owning accounts. Any platform that fails to follow the rule could face huge fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars. This bold step has caught global attention, with many governments watching closely and considering similar measures.

Officials from countries including Denmark, Indonesia, Brazil, and others say they are studying Australia’s move as they explore their own ways to safeguard young users. Denmark’s Minister for Digital Affairs even said she was “envious” of Australia’s action and believes it is an important step in protecting children online.

Although global figures are limited, research firm eMarketer estimates that about one in ten U.S. social media users are under 18. In countries like Brazil, nearly one in five users are minors. Young users are important to tech companies because advertising brings in most of their revenue, and teenagers often spend long hours on their platforms. Restricting teens’ access could affect the industry, which is expected to earn more than $245 billion this year.

However, technology experts warn that enforcing the ban may be difficult. They believe many teenagers will still try to bypass the rules by using fake details or accessing platforms through other means. But there is also a possibility that if children are forced to wait until they are older, some may lose interest in joining these platforms altogether.

Experts say the move could push countries to create different age-verification rules, which may make compliance more complicated and costly for tech companies.

Major platforms have started reacting to the new law. Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, says it will comply but argues that giving parents more control would be a better solution. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has also promised to follow the law but says age bans generally do not work. Snap, the company behind Snapchat, says it will follow the rule even though it claims it should not be classified as a social media platform. Google’s YouTube also denied being a social media platform. Meanwhile, neither Google nor X, owned by Elon Musk, has commented on whether they will comply.

Australia’s decision marks a major shift in how governments regulate social media, and the world will be watching to see how effective this bold ban turns out to be.