US EditionHas Australia's Social Media Ban Been Delayed?
Platforms face fines up to AUD 50 million for failing to block users under 16 as officials aim to reduce social media harms like bullying and anxiety among teens.
- Come December 10, Australia will require social media accounts to be at least 16, with companies facing fines up to 50 million Australian dollars for noncompliance.
- Officials argue barring under‑16 accounts will protect children from harmful platform features, citing families of children harmed by social media and drawing international attention from Denmark, Malaysia, and New Zealand.
- Using a mix of self‑reporting and biometric or behavioural estimates, companies will identify about 500,000 accounts and began deactivations from December 4, with Meta removing under‑16 accounts ahead of the deadline.
- Hundreds of thousands of teens face deactivation, with Snapchat about 440,000, Instagram 350,000, TikTok 200,000, Facebook 150,000 users, while two 15‑year‑old plaintiffs in New South Wales challenge the law.
- Surveys show a large Australian Broadcasting Corp. survey found most 9- to 16-year-olds doubt the law will work, three-quarters plan to keep using social media, while app downloads surged before rollout, watched by parents, researchers and government officials.
28 Articles
28 Articles
Australia ban offers test on social media harm
Read: 3 min Australia’s under-16 social media ban will make the nation a real-life laboratory to better understand the technology’s impact on young people, experts say. Those in favour of Wednesday’s world-first ban point to a growing mass of studies that suggest too much time online takes a toll on teen wellbeing. But opponents argue there is not enough hard proof to warrant the new legislation, which could do more harm than good by isolating v…
Young people in Australia are fearing being left without social media as the country soon becomes the first in the world to introduce a strict 16-year age limit. “Without social media, we are cut off from the rest of the world. People under 16 become invisible,” says 15-year-old Vivian Wilson.
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