Australia – Starting at midnight in Australia (13:00 GMT), new regulations will forbid children under 16 from having certain social media profiles. The platforms covered by the law include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit, and streaming services like Twitch and Kick.
There have been a number of teething problems with the ban’s implementation. There are multiple reports of individuals under 16 passing the face age assurance checks, despite the government’s declaration that it does not expect the prohibition to be perfect from day one.
The government’s growing scrutiny of Australian internet companies’ activities and the effects of social media on young Australians’ mental health is reflected in the legislation.
Albanese claims that after speaking with “thousands” of Australian parents, he decided to speed up the new law because of the negative impact that social media continues to have on young minds.
According to estimates, platforms that break the guidelines risk fines of up to $49.5 million. By Tuesday, all of the platforms on the list—aside from X—had committed to following the ban. The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, said that although X had lately talked about how it would comply, the business had not told users about its policy.
Despite eSafety classifying the platform as “low risk” because to its small user base of 50,000 in Australia, Bluesky, an X rival, said on Tuesday that it will likewise restrict under-16s. For the past few weeks, kids had been exchanging phone numbers, doing age assurance checks, and were ready to have their accounts canceled.
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