Australia is the first country in the world to ban social media for children under 16 (2 photos)

All popular social media and video services, including YouTube and TikTok, have been banned.





Starting today, the world's first comprehensive ban on social media for minors took effect in Australia. The law requires social media platforms to restrict access by minors under 16 to their platforms and deactivate their existing accounts (more than a million pages). There are no exceptions for schoolchildren, and even parental objections are ignored.

The list of banned platforms includes 10 of the largest platforms. These include Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and Reddit. The list of banned online services may be expanded later, according to media reports.

Platforms that fail to comply with the law face a fine of 50 million Australian dollars (US$33 million). Children and their parents are not subject to penalties. In addition to mandatory deletion of minors' accounts, social networks are also required to use age verification technologies when registering new users, which include document verification, video selfies, and account behavior analysis.



Media reports that even before the law came into effect, teenagers were already bragging on social media about how they circumvented the ban. The mother of a 13-year-old schoolgirl in Sydney reported that she retained access to social media after completing age verification via video. Another man in Brisbane reported that his son passed the video verification by "hiding his teeth and scrunching up his face."

It is noted that all social media platforms, except Elon Musk's X, have stated that they will comply with Australian law.