- Australia has become the first country to implement a nationwide ban preventing children under 16 from accessing major social media platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, Threads, X, Twitch and Kick.
- Platforms that fail to enforce age restrictions face fines of up to A$49.5 million. Around 200,000 TikTok accounts were deactivated immediately, with hundreds of thousands more expected across platforms.
- Age verification will rely on age-inference algorithms, selfie-based age estimation, third-party verification options, and analysis of existing user data. Platforms cannot require government-issued ID, and must delete any verification data collected.
- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the measure as a major cultural shift designed to protect children from cyberbullying, harmful content, misinformation and mental-health risks.
- Major tech companies and digital-rights groups criticized the ban as impractical, privacy-intrusive and potentially harmful, warning it may push children into less regulated online spaces.
Australia Begins Enforcing World-First Social Media Ban for Children Under 16
