Australia Enforces First National Ban on Social Media Accounts for Under‑16s

Overview

• Taking effect on Dec. 10 local time, the law covers major services including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, X, Reddit, Twitch and Kick, with a dynamic list that leaves some apps like WhatsApp, Discord, Steam Chat and YouTube Kids outside the scope for now.
• Early actions include mass removals and disconnections, with authorities and companies reporting hundreds of thousands of accounts taken down, TikTok confirming about 200,000 removals, and Google saying it will automatically disconnect Australian YouTube users under 16.
• Verification tools range from selfie-based age estimation and third‑party checks (Yoti, k‑ID) to bank‑data verification and behavioral inference, raising accuracy, privacy and circumvention concerns; officials have discouraged routine uploads of government IDs.
• Rights advocates and teenagers have filed High Court challenges, including a case backed by the Digital Freedom Project and a separate bid by students Macy Newland and Noah Jones, as industry argues the rollout is rushed and may push youths to less safe online spaces.
• The eSafety Commissioner will seek monthly data from platforms for six months, with penalties of up to A$49.5–50 million for non‑compliance, while users and parents face no sanctions and policymakers abroad track the outcome as they weigh similar rules.