Nepal UK
Sydney — Australia has enforced the world's first ban on children under 16 years of age from using social media.
Under the ban, which came into effect from Wednesday (10th December), Under-16s in Australia are banned from using major social media services including Tiktok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and Threads. They cannot set up new accounts and existing profiles are being deactivated.
“This is the day when Australian families are taking back power from these big tech companies and they’re asserting the right of kids to be kids and for parents to have greater peace of mind,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
“This reform will change lives. For Australian kids ... allowing them to just have their childhood. For Australian parents, enabling them to have greater peace of mind. But also for the global community, who are looking at Australia and saying: well, if Australia can do it, why can’t we?” Albanese later told a gathering of reform supporters at his official Sydney residence, including parents who blame social media for a child’s suicide.
Many children posted farewell messages, while parents reported distraught children discovering they’d been shut out of platforms as the ban took effect, AP news agency reported.
Some young children reported fooling the platforms’ age estimation technology by drawing on facial hair. Parents and older siblings are also expected to help some children circumvent the restrictions, reports said.
Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube and Twitch face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($32.9 million) from Wednesday if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove the accounts of Australian children younger than 16.
Communications Minister Anika Wells said more than 200,000 TikTok accounts in Australia had already been deactivated by Wednesday.
The Australian government says it will reduce the negative impact of social media's "design features that encourage [young people] to spend more time on screens, while also serving up content that can harm their health and wellbeing".
A study it commissioned earlier in 2025 found that 96% of children aged 10-15 used social media, and that seven out of 10 of them had been exposed to harmful content. This included misogynistic and violent material as well as 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 victim of cyberbullying, the BBC news reported.
