Social media ban in Australia starts for children under 16: Here's how it works

Children in Australia under the age of 16 are now legally banned from using 10 social media apps. 

Hundreds of thousands of accounts are being deactivated this week as the ban – the first of its kind in the world – goes into effect. 

Here’s what to know about the country’s new law, and how it works: 

Australia social media ban

Big picture view:

Children younger than 16 in Australia are now legally banned from using the following social media apps: 

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Kick
• Reddit
• Snapchat
• Threads
• TikTok
• X
• YouTube
• Twitch

What they're saying:

"This reform will change lives. For Australian kids ... allowing them to just have their childhood. For Australian parents, enabling them to have greater peace of mind. But also for the global community, who are looking at Australia and saying: well, if Australia can do it, why can’t we?" Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Wednesday. 

Local perspective:

Sydney Harbour Bridge was lit up Wednesday with a message saying "Let them be kids" as the ban went into effect. 

How does Australia’s social media ban work? 

Big picture view:

The government put the onus on the platforms, rather than on children or their parents, to ensure everyone meets the age limit. 

What's next:

The apps must now report monthly for the next six months how many children’s accounts they close. And the law says they’ll face fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) if they fail to take reasonable steps to remove accounts.

Platforms could potentially ask some account holders across the country to prove they are 16 or older, possibly by asking for identification documents or a face scan, or by pulling reference points from data on the accounts. 

What they're saying:

Google said Wednesday that anyone in Australia under 16 would be signed out of its platform YouTube from Dec. 10 and lose features accessible only to account holders such as playlists.

Google would determine YouTube account holders’ ages based on personal data contained in associated Google accounts and other signals.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, said suspected young children will be removed from those platforms from Thursday.

Communications Minister Anika Wells said more than 200,000 TikTok accounts in Australia had already been deactivated by Wednesday.

The other side:

"We have consistently said this rushed legislation misunderstands our platform, the way young Australians use it and, most importantly, it does not fulfill its promise to make kids safer online," a Google statement said.

Child welfare and internet experts have also raised concerns about the ban, including isolating 14- and 15-year-olds from their already established online social networks.

RELATED: Kids with smartphones reported higher well-being than kids without, study finds

Dig deeper:

Kids may commonly try to evade detection to keep their accounts. Some young children reported fooling the platforms' age estimation technology by drawing on facial hair. Parents and older siblings are also expected to help some children circumvent the restrictions.

But Wells warned they would eventually be caught. For example, she said a child who used a virtual private network to appear to be in Norway would be caught out if they were routinely posting images of Australian beaches, or seen talking about their upcoming school holidays or other age-indicating conversations. 

Bottom line:

Australian officials admit implementation will be difficult and imperfect, but that at the end of the day, the law is about pushing back against big tech and their social responsibility. 

RELATED: Here's how your kid's screen time compares with everyone else

Protecting kids online

Big picture view:

While Australia’s ban is the first of its kind, the push to curb children’s internet usage and address harm online has been ongoing. 

Here in the U.S., you must be at least 13 years old to sign up for most popular social media apps, including TIkTok and Instagram. 

Meta was sued in 2023 by several states claiming it designed its apps to be addictive and of prioritizing profits over designing safeguards for the mental well-being of young users. 

And earlier this month, Hawaii sued TikTok parent company ByteDance, claiming the app harms children.

READ MORE: Hawaii sues TikTok parent company ByteDance, claims app harms children

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