Australia has become the first nation to ban social media for children under 16 on Wednesday. The ban intends to protect children under 16 from addictive algorithms, online predators, and cyberbullies.
Children in Australia woke up on Wednesday without access to their social media accounts. The implementation of the strict new law is being closely monitored by lawmakers worldwide, as no other country has taken such drastic measures.
Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, Kick, Reddit, Twitch, and X are among the 10 social media platforms banned. The companies say they will abide by the ban by using age verification technology to detect under-16s and suspend their accounts, but they don’t think it would make kids safer.
“This is the day when Australian families are taking back power from these big tech companies. They are asserting the right of kids to be kids and for parents to have greater peace of mind,” said Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Speaking to ABC on Wednesday, he remarked it was a “proud day” for the country. However, he told the public broadcaster that “it won’t be simple.”
To avoid fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($32 million), platforms must demonstrate that they have taken “reasonable steps” to deactivate accounts used by under-16s and to stop new accounts from being registered. It is expected that some kids and their parents may flout the ban, but neither will face any repercussions.
How the platforms are responding
Accounts on Snapchat will be suspended for three years or until the children turn 16 years of age.
On Wednesday, YouTube users’ accounts will be automatically logged out. Their data will be stored so they can reactivate their accounts when they turn 16, but their channels will no longer be accessible. Kids will still be able to watch YouTube.
According to TikTok, all accounts belonging to users under the age of 16 will be deleted on Wednesday. It claims that its age verification technology will identify the user regardless of the email address or name on the account. Users won’t be able to view content that children previously posted. Additionally, the platform encourages parents to report their children if they think they may have lied about their age when registering accounts.
Twitch said that Australian kids under 16 years won’t be permitted to register for new accounts on the popular gaming live streaming platform starting on Wednesday. However, existing accounts held by under-16s will remain active until Jan 9, 2026. A request for an explanation of the delay was not answered by the company.
On Dec 4, Meta began deleting accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads that belonged to teens under the age of 16. Users were encouraged to download their content, which will be available if they decide to reactivate their account after turning 16.
Reddit announced that it would stop users under the age of 16 from opening new accounts and suspend the existing ones.
X has vehemently opposed the ban as a violation of free speech, but it has not responded to questions about how it will abide by the regulation.
A request for comment from Kick, a Twitch-like live streaming service, has not been answered.
List of platforms not part of the ban
A list of platforms that aren’t yet included in the ban along with the list of prohibited websites are Roblox, Discord, GitHub, Google Classroom, LEGO Play, Messenger, Pinterest, Steam and Steam Chat, WhatsApp, and YouTube Kids.
Given recent allegations that children have been targeted by adult predators within Roblox’s games, many Australians found the decision to exclude the platform to be perplexing.
According to Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, discussions with Roblox started in June, and the company agreed to implement new controls that are being implemented this month in Australia, New Zealand, and the Netherlands, as well as in other countries in January.
Chat features will only be available to users who are the same age as them, and users will need to confirm their age before they can use them.
Inside the systems flagging underage accounts
The new rule forces banned platforms to actively verify users’ ages, even though they already had a good notion of who was using their service based on the date of birth they entered when they registered an account.