Anthony Albanese, the prime minister of Australia, stood agency Wednesday as Australia grew to become the primary nation to ban kids underneath 16 from main social media platforms.
Many youngsters posted movies bragging about bypassing the restrictions inside hours of implementation.
The Prime Minister referred to as the December 9 launch “one of many greatest social and cultural modifications that our nation has confronted” whereas teenagers flooded TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat with posts mocking the brand new guidelines.
Some customers shared screenshots of efficiently creating accounts regardless of the age verification methods.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant acknowledged “hiccups” on day one however dismissed claims the ban had failed. She introduced plans to ship info notices to tech giants inside seven to 10 days, demanding progress studies on account deactivations. Firms face fines as much as $49.5 million for non-compliance.
Greater than 200,000 TikTok accounts in Australia have been already deactivated earlier than the ban took impact, Communications Minister Anika Wells revealed. The federal government plans to request up to date numbers from all platforms lined by the laws.
Elon Musk’s X grew to become the ultimate holdout to verify compliance, with the platform stating “it’s not our selection, it’s what Australian regulation requires.” Musk had beforehand criticized the ban as a “backdoor technique to management the web utilization of all Australians.”
The laws targets Fb, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X and YouTube, requiring platforms to make use of “cheap steps” to stop underage customers from creating accounts. Gaming platforms like Roblox and messaging companies stay exempt.
Worldwide consideration has centered intensely on Australia’s strategy. Malaysia introduced plans for the same ban in 2026, whereas Republican Senator Josh Hawley advised reporters American dad and mom would welcome comparable restrictions. “Dad and mom need assistance, and so they really feel like they’re swimming upstream when all people else has social media,” Hawley mentioned.
Critics argue the rushed laws, handed in simply 9 days, ignores professional warnings about isolating weak kids from on-line assist communities. Youth psychological well being professional Patrick McGorry mentioned the federal government “didn’t take heed to consultants” when formulating the coverage.
Social psychologist Jonathan Haidt praised the ban as “one of the essential worldwide reforms” to scale back hurt from social media on youngsters. He in contrast the milestone to Victoria’s world-first obligatory seatbelt regulation in 1970.
Inman Grant emphasised the ban goals to assist dad and mom moderately than punish households. “The first cause being, they didn’t need their kids to be excluded,” she mentioned, referring to why 90% of oldsters beforehand helped kids aged 8-12 arrange social media accounts.
The watchdog will monitor compliance by way of intelligence gathering and investigations. “It’s not simply the regulation that deters these firms – it’s the reputational injury and the affect on income,” Inman Grant warned.
