In a global first, Australia’s under-16 social media ban takes effect

Australia has officially started its landmark ban preventing children under the age of 16 from using major social media platforms, becoming the first country in the world to implement such sweeping restrictions. The law came into effect at midnight in Sydney, affecting roughly five million Australians under 16, including around one million aged between 10 and 15.

Under the new rules, responsibility falls entirely on social media companies, which must take “reasonable steps” to ensure under-age users cannot create or access accounts. The government has encouraged platforms to rely on multiple age-verification tools, ranging from official IDs to facial or voice recognition systems.

Anticipating the change, Meta, owner of Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, began removing Australian users under 16 last week. The company said complying with the law will require ongoing, multi-layered processes. Snapchat has outlined several verification options of its own, including bank account details, photo identification, and selfie-based checks.

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How effective enforcement will be remains unclear. Workarounds such as VPNs, shared family accounts, or fake profiles may still provide unauthorised access. The ban applies to widely used platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube, Threads, X, Reddit, and streaming services like Kick and Twitch. However, child-oriented and educational services, such as YouTube Kids, Google Classroom, and messaging apps like WhatsApp, will still be accessible to younger users.

The Australian government has described the move as a global first aimed at reducing online risks for children. But critics, including tech companies and teenagers, argue the policy may be difficult to enforce and could restrict young people’s digital freedoms. Companies that fail to comply face penalties of up to A$49.5 million. Governments worldwide are expected to watch closely as Australia becomes the testing ground for broad-scale age enforcement across social media platforms.