Versions :<12345678Live>
Snapshot 6:Tue, Dec 9, 2025 9:49:14 PM GMT last edited by Kevin

Australia Enforces Social Media Ban for Children Under 16

Australia Enforces Social Media Ban for Children Under 16

Australia Enforces Social Media Ban for Children Under 16
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

SocialAustralia’s world‑leading social media companiesban mineprotects children's attentionunder like16 gold,from crushingharms theirthat crush wellbeing and destroyingdisrupt familiesdevelopment. who'veBy lostholding platforms accountable with substantial fines, parents can enforce safe boundaries without making their kids tothe onlineodd harmsone out. This world-leadingreform, bandriven protectsby courageous Australian families, gives children duringspace criticalto developmentbe yearskids, and empowers parents, toand pushsignals backa againstclear peernational pressurestandard withoutfor makingonline theirsafety kidsand thechildhood odd one outprotection.

Banning kids from social media tramples their fundamental rights to digital participation while creating massivemajor privacy risks through mandatory identityID checks. TheCutting banteens cutsoff childrenfrom offonline spaces isolates them from educationalfriendships, benefitscreativity, and platformsshared withpurpose strongin today’s digital culture. Instead of improving platform safety features, allthe whileban failingshifts responsibility to improveparents without the productstools kidsto willmanage actuallyit, beremoving allowedyoung topeople’s useagency and setting a troubling precedent where surveillance is mistaken for protection.

GettingThe aroundban won’t keep teens offline — just off the IDradar. verficiationKids are already swapping devices, using VPNs, or hopping to lesser-known apps 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 it’s mission accomplished.

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.


Articles on this story



© 2025 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.18.0

© 2025 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 6.18.0