Australia has now been the first country to ban social media platforms for children under 16 in December. With this new law that was implemented, it has gained mixed reactions from teens, parents, and some tech firms. The Australian government had argued that this new ban would protect teens from harmful online environments and algorithms. In a fox news poll that had over 1,000 voters, results showed that 64 percent of the respondents had favoured a social media ban for teens as well as banning phones in K-12 classrooms. Two-Thirds of parent voters were in favour of the ban, with 36 percent of parents being opposed. Major social media apps like Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube, X , and Reddit are now being required to completely remove underage accounts and add an age verification system that can verify a user’s age. Accounts will be forced to upload age verifying documents like an ID, or bank details. Claura Chung states ‘’Under the law, which came into force in December, failure by the companies to take ‘’reasonable steps’’ to remove underage users could lead to fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars, about $33 million’’
Many teenagers are finding ways to bypass the law, some teens are being helped by parents, older siblings, or VPNS to evade account bans. Before the ban, there had been an increase in downloads of VPNS. VPNS are used to hide a user’s location to avoid restrictions set by countries. The Australian government has now noticed this and are requiring social media platforms to be able to detect VPNS. Although, some teens are appreciative of the ban as teens feel free from distractions and are able to practice new habits. Sawdah Bhaimiya states ‘’Amy, 14, kept a diary since the ban started and told the BBC in a recent report that she feels ‘’free’’ without the pressure of maintaining a presence on snapchat – one of the affected platforms’’. This new ban created by Australia is inspiring other countries and governments around the world including Denmark, the European Union, France, New Zealand, and Malaysia to consider adding similar bans.
Sources :
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/15/australias-social-media-ban-for-teens-how-its-going.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/world/australia/social-media-ban-australia.html
