On Wednesday, Australia implemented a historic piece of legislation banning social media for all citizens under the age of 16. The move has drawn global attention, as the negative effects of social media on teens have been widely reported over the past three years. Starting on Wednesday, December 10, all social media companies covered by the directive will be required to remove any user who cannot verify their age is 16 or older.
What's banned, and what's not?
The legislation will block the vast majority of popular sites. The list consists of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X (Twitter), YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, Kick, and Threads. The sites exempt are Pinterest, YouTube Kids, Discord, WhatsApp, Lemon8, GitHub, LEGO Play, Steam and Steam Chat, Google Classroom, Messenger, LinkedIn, and the video game Roblox. The exclusion of YouTube Kids and Roblox has some experts raising eyebrows, as the lack of content restrictions on YouTube Kids has been heavily criticized. That being said, the Australian government has not confirmed whether the list of banned and unbanned platforms is set or whether more social media platforms will be banned.
How will age-verification work?
Age verification will be the responsibility of each individual platform, with the only requirement from the government being that requesting ID cannot be the only form of age check. Meta has not disclosed how they will enforce the ban, Snapchat has said it will use account behavioural signals and the birth date people list, and TikTok will implement a “multi-layered approach” that “combines technology and human moderation” to detect and remove the accounts of teens who gave an incorrect date of birth when originally signed up to the app. YouTube said it would determine the age “based on the age associated with their Google account and other signals, and will continue to explore how we implement and apply appropriate age assurance.”
Other platforms have yet to release how they will ensure age verification on their sites.
What will happen to users under 16
For users under 16, they will be faced with different choices depending on which platform they frequent. For Meta platforms, underage users will have the choice of downloading all of their content and placing their accounts on hold for when they do turn 16 instead of directly deleting the account. TikTok has implemented something similar, allowing user to archive their content and deactivate their account until they turn 16. Snapchat will also allow users to download their photos and conversations, and will disable and lock underage accounts until the user can prove they are over 16. The company said it would create a “frozen state” for children's accounts, allowing them to reactivate when they turn 16.
Users who are over 16 but are mistakenly marked as being underage will have to submit a formal appeal to become reinstated on their respective platforms. Once again, that process will look different depending on the platform, with Meta implementing a facial scan, and Snapchat having users go through a bank card check, provide government ID, or take a selfie for facial age estimation. TikTok has announced that it will follow in Snapchat and Meta’s footsteps, and YouTube has not revealed how its appeal process will work.
MP challenges
John Ruddick, an MP from New South Wales, has launched a high court challenge on the grounds of freedom of political communication, but the case has yet to be heard. An Australian parliamentary committee recommended a delay in the legislation by six months to June 2026, but Australian senators disagreed, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has shown no signs of delaying the ban.