As of 10 December 2025, Australia will enforce a world-first law banning anyone under the age of 16 from having an account on major social media platforms like: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, X, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, Kick, and Threads. This has been termed the first global crackdown on the use of social media by young people.
After the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 was passed, accounts for users aged 13 to 15 began to be deleted. This law places the legal responsibility squarely on the companies' shoulders, with no criminal consequences for minors or their parents. Compliance failures translated into an exposure limit of up to $50 million per breach, as reported by AP News and The Guardian.
But Why Is Australia Doing This?
Explaining the objective of the bill, government officials and the eSafety Commissioner explained that the bill was aimed at safeguarding young people from social-media harms related to exposure to unsafe content and design elements that foster dependency, as well as health risks associated with their mental well-being. It is understood that the under-16s will still be able to view any content that is public, e.g., watching YouTube without a login, but they are not supposed to hold an account or interact on regulated platforms.
Implementation Remains Unclear
ABC News reports that the law does not make user verification an obligatory step for all users. Instead, it imposes an obligation on the part of the platforms to take "reasonable steps" to prevent access by under-16s. Critics say the standard is quite woolly and the age-deriving systems themselves may be emerging and sometimes unreliable. It can also change over time with new services, as the eSafety Commissioner is allowed to add new regulated platforms.
A Global Test Case
According to Reuters, Bloomberg, and Al Jazeera, all eyes are on Australia. What goes through its Parliament this week could spark a series of such laws worldwide, or reveal the absolute limits regarding the size at which one can regulate social media.
One thing is certain, for sure: Australia is on the brink of redefining the border between teenagers and the digital world and there is no real prediction of what is going to happen next.
