Australia’s World-First Social Media Ban for Under-16s Takes Hold After Successful Age Verification Trial

Australia’s World-First Social Media Ban for Under-16s Takes Hold After Successful Age Verification Trial

The Australian government commissioned a study earlier this year to determine the necessity of the ban, which ultimately aims to protect children from the harms associated with social media.

RMN News Technology Desk
New Delhi | December 4, 2025

Canberra, Australia – Australia is proceeding with its world-first ban preventing individuals under the age of 16 from accessing social media, an initiative aimed at safeguarding children from online dangers. The official ban is set to begin on December 10.

In a move preempting the official start date, Meta has already commenced the process of removing Australian children under 16 from its major platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Threads. The tech giant had notified users aged 13 to 15 that account shutdowns would begin from December 4. An estimated total of 150,000 Facebook users and 350,000 Instagram accounts are expected to be impacted by the changes. Threads, which functions similarly to X, requires an existing Instagram account for access.

The controversial legislation affects major digital platforms, including Meta’s three services, as well as YouTube, X, TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit, Kick, and Twitch.

Enforcement and Penalties

Under the new law, digital platforms, such as Snapchat, Meta-owned Instagram, and X, bear the direct responsibility for enforcing the age limit. Companies that fail to take “reasonable steps” to prevent under-16s from having accounts face substantial financial repercussions. Penalties for non-compliance could reach as much as A$49.5 million (US$33 million, £25 million) or A$50 million ($32 million).

The implementation follows a key government-backed technology trial which concluded that checking a user’s age is technologically possible. The findings from the Age Assurance Technology Trial stated there are “no significant technological barriers” to effectively and robustly integrating private age checks into existing services.

Methods explored during the trial included facial scans, inferring a user’s age based on their behavior, age verification techniques, and parental controls. The test specifically accounted for ways teenagers might try to bypass age checks, though no single “ubiquitous solution” was identified. Over 50 companies participated in the trial, including Apple Inc. and Google, which develop the most popular mobile operating systems. This development represents a setback for major social media companies like Meta Platforms Inc., TikTok, and Snap Inc., which had previously questioned the reliability of technology to establish a user’s age and opposed the legislation.

Protecting Children from Online Harm

The Australian government commissioned a study earlier this year to determine the necessity of the ban, which ultimately aims to protect children from the harms associated with social media. This study found that 96% of Australian children aged 10-15 used social media.

The research highlighted significant exposure to harmful material:

• Seven out of 10 children aged 10-15 had been exposed to harmful content such as material promoting suicide and eating disorders, as well as misogynistic and violent material.
• More than half of the children surveyed reported being the victim of cyberbullying.
• One in seven reported experiencing grooming-type behavior from adults or older children.

Australia’s significant progress in this area could potentially set a global precedent, allowing other jurisdictions worldwide to follow its example as they address the challenges of protecting children from harmful online content. However, critics have voiced concerns that the ban might isolate certain groups who rely on platforms for connection or inadvertently push children toward less-regulated corners of the internet.