Millions of Australian teens lose access to social media accounts as ban takes effect - live updates
BBC News4 days
Australia Enforces Social Media Ban for Children Under 16
Does the ban protect vulnerable children while letting them simply be kids, or violate young people's rights to privacy-respecting digital participation?
Above: Phone displaying social media apps in front of Australia’s eSafety Commissioner website on Dec. 7, 2025. Image credit: George Chan/Getty Images
The Spin
Pro-government narrative
Australia's world‑leading social media ban protects children under 16 from harms that crush wellbeing and disrupt development. By holding platforms accountable with substantial fines, parents can enforce safe boundaries without making their kids the odd ones out. This reform, driven by courageous Australian families, gives children space to be kids, empowers parents, and signals a clear national standard for online safety and childhood protection.
Government-critical narrative
Banning kids from social media tramples their rights to digital participation while creating major privacy risks through autocratic, mandatory ID checks. Cutting teens off from online spaces isolates them from friendships, creativity and shared purpose in today's digital culture. Instead of improving platform safety, the ban shifts responsibility to parents without the tools to manage it, removing young people's agency and setting a troubling precedent where surveillance is mistaken for protection.
Cynical narrative
The ban won’t keep teens offline — just off the radar. Kids are already swapping devices, using VPNs, or hopping to lesser-known apps that the government hasn't caught up with. They'll still scroll, post and connect — only now without safeguards, visibility or accountability. The policy pretends to protect children while pushing them into darker corners of the internet and telling parents that its mission is accomplished.
Narrative D
Australia’s ban isn’t just national policy — it’s the first domino in a global shift to restrict youth access to social media. By forcing platforms to verify ages and redesign for safety, it ends the era of tech firms setting their own rules. Other governments are now preparing similar moves, seeing Australia as proof that major regulation of Big Tech is both possible and inevitable.
Public Figures
Establishment split
CRITICAL
PRO
© 2025 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.18.0
© 2025 Improve the News Foundation.
All rights reserved.
Version 6.18.0