Social media ban for under-16s comes into force

AUSTRALIA has become the first country in the world to enforce a nationwide ban preventing children under the age of 16 from holding accounts on major social media platforms, with the new laws coming into effect on Wednesday last week.

The reform places responsibility on social media companies to take reasonable steps to prevent under-16s from accessing age-restricted platforms, with penalties of up to $49.5 million for serious or systemic breaches.

Platforms now covered by the ban include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Threads, Reddit, Kick and Twitch.

Corangamite federal member, Libby Coker, said the commencement of the ban marked a shift in how Australia responds to online harm.

“We’re choosing to work together, and support parents to protect children from the harms of social media.

“Every clinician and educator has seen the same crisis unfolding with more children in distress, more cyberbullying, more anxiety and more harm – that’s why this matters.

“This ban sets a national standard and puts accountability squarely on the platforms, not parents.

“Years from now, we’ll look back on this as the moment we worked together to improve the lives of a whole generation of Australians.”

Compliance monitoring is now under way, with the eSafety Commissioner actively overseeing whether platforms are taking reasonable steps to prevent under-16s from holding accounts.

“Enforcing a minimum account age of 16 will create normative change and give young people a reprieve from powerful and persuasive design features built to keep them hooked, often enabling harmful content and conduct online,” Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, said.

“eSafety will not hesitate to take enforcement action where it identifies systemic breaches of the law.”

As the ban takes hold, the federal government has acknowledged some younger users may attempt to shift to alternative platforms. Lesser-known apps such as Lemon8, Yope and Coverstar have climbed Apple’s App Store charts in the days following the ban’s start.

The government has confirmed the list of age-restricted platforms is not fixed, with additional services able to be assessed and added if they meet the criteria under the legislation, while the eSafety Commissioner has warned the scope of the ban may evolve as platforms change their features, or as new services emerge.

Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, acknowledged the reform would not be perfect, but said its commencement alone marked a significant and world-leading shift.

“We do acknowledge it won’t be perfect and we’ll work through it,” he said last week

“Success is the fact that it’s happening. Success is the fact that we’re having this discussion.

“Parents are talking to their children around the breakfast table. Teachers, as we are speaking, will be speaking to their students.”

Several platforms have avoided the ban after being assessed as not having social interaction as their primary purpose. These include online gaming, messaging and education-focused services such as Roblox, Discord, WhatsApp, YouTube Kids, Google Classroom and Steam.