Australia Passes Law to Ban Social Media for Kids Under 16

Australia has become the first country to pass a law that bans children under 16 from accessing social media. The bill requires that tech companies verify the age of users and take down the accounts of those who are underage. The law applies to all social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, and X, but the list could expand in the future.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese praised the new law, saying it sends a message to parents that the government has their backs. “Platforms now have a social responsibility to ensure the safety of our kids is a priority for them,” he said in a statement to CNN.

The law comes after years of debate over how to protect kids from online harms. Many Australians are worried about the impact of social media on children’s mental health, privacy, and safety. Some parent groups have gone as far as to suggest that social media use should be banned for people under 18.

But the law is controversial. Critics say it could drive kids to less regulated and more dangerous corners of the web. Other experts worry that the bill might infringe on freedom of speech.

Australia’s government has said that it will enforce the law through the country’s internet regulator, the eSafety Commissioner. Tech companies that don’t comply with the legislation could be fined as much as 10% of their annual revenue in Australia or $32.5 million, whichever is greater.

Tech companies have pushed back on the bill, calling it rushed and overly broad. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, told CNN after the law’s passage that it shared the goal of making social media safer for young users but that the legislation was “rushed and passed without a full understanding of the potential unintended consequences.”

The law is scheduled to go into effect later in 2025, but the government still needs to set a “switch-off” date when tech companies will be required to have age verification systems in place. More than 100 submissions were made and “almost all submitters and witnesses expressed grave concerns that a bill of such import was not afforded sufficient time for thorough inquiry and report,” a Senate committee said in a report.

The Australian bill could have implications for other countries, particularly in the West. The UK’s government has considered similar age-based social media restrictions, and the US has mulled a ban on certain features that “gamify” social media experiences for young users. For years, the world’s major tech companies have designed their products with the US and European markets in mind. If Australia’s law sticks, it could end up setting a new global standard.

Do you think the law will make social media safer for kids, or is it a step too far? What do you think will be the impact on young people’s use of social media?