Australia has begun enforcing a world-first ban on social media accounts for children under 16, marking a major shift in how governments regulate online platforms. From 10 December 2025, social media companies must prevent Australian children younger than 16 from holding accounts on specified services or face penalties of up to A$49.5 million for systemic breaches.
The restrictions stem from the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, which amended the Online Safety Act 2021 to impose a national minimum age for social media use. The law was championed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, who argue that heavy social media use is linked to cyberbullying, self-harm content and deteriorating mental health among young people.
The ban applies to major platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Reddit, Threads, Twitch and live-streaming service Kick. Messaging, education and health services such as WhatsApp, Messenger Kids, Headspace, Google Classroom and Kids Helpline remain available to younger users.
How Platforms Must Verify Users’ Ages
Enforcement of the ban is overseen by eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, whose office will assess whether platforms have taken “reasonable steps” to detect and remove under-age accounts. Initial compliance reports are expected before Christmas.
Companies are barred from demanding a passport or driver’s licence as a condition for using their services, forcing them instead to rely on alternative age-assurance tools. These include AI-based facial analysis from selfie videos, checks against existing account data and, in some cases, verification through payment details held by banks or app stores.
Officials acknowledge that determined teenagers are already trying to bypass controls, whether by using virtual private networks (VPNs), altering birth dates or borrowing older relatives’ credentials. The commissioner has warned that accounts found to belong to children under 16 will be removed over time as detection systems improve.
Support From Parents And Pushback From Critics
The government says polling shows around 77% of Australians support a minimum social media age, with parents’ groups and campaigners arguing that the constant flow of content is “rewiring young brains” and fuelling an “epidemic” of anxiety and depression. Families who lost children after online bullying or exposure to self-harm material have publicly backed the reforms.
Child-safety advocates such as the 36Months initiative and media campaigns like News Corp Australia’s “Let Them Be Kids” pushed for tougher rules, saying voluntary safety tools and community guidelines had failed to curb harmful content aimed at minors.
Civil-liberties groups, digital rights advocates and some psychologists argue the ban is too blunt an instrument. The Digital Freedom Project has launched a constitutional challenge in the High Court of Australia, contending that the law infringes the implied freedom of political communication and could deprive young people of support networks, especially those from LGBTQ+ or culturally diverse communities.
Technology companies including Meta, TikTok and Google have criticised the legislation but signalled they will work with regulators to comply. Some platforms warn that stricter age gates may simply push teenagers toward less regulated services, encrypted messaging apps or offshore websites that are harder for authorities to monitor.
Global Implications Of Australia’s Experiment
Australia is the first country to implement a sweeping, nationwide ban on under-16 social media accounts, and regulators in other regions are watching closely. Governments in countries including Denmark and Malaysia have expressed interest in similar rules, while in the United States the proposed Kids Off Social Media Act would curb algorithmic recommendations to minors and restrict accounts for children under 13.
Supporters say the Australian model could become a template for rebalancing power between families and large platforms. The eSafety Commission, working with researchers at Stanford University, plans to measure the law’s impact over the next year, including whether young people migrate to new apps that fall outside the current ban list.
Prime Minister Albanese has framed the changes as a cultural turning point, urging young people heading into the southern summer holidays to rediscover sport, hobbies and in-person friendships while the world watches how the offline experiment unfolds.
