Overview
- Australia’s law took effect on December 10, requiring major platforms to deactivate existing accounts held by under-16s and prevent new ones under eSafety oversight with hefty penalties for systemic noncompliance.
- Reddit filed a High Court challenge seeking to overturn the law or be excluded, arguing it functions as a collection of public forums rather than a social network and that the rules burden political communication.
- Early assessments report underage users bypassing controls using VPNs, false birthdates, and shared credentials, with Communications Minister Anika Wells cautioning that robust age checks will take time to refine.
- Platforms have begun mass deactivations across services including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X, YouTube and Reddit, as questions persist over the accuracy and intrusiveness of age-assurance methods.
- Governments in Denmark and Malaysia are preparing similar restrictions and others are weighing their options, even as privacy advocates warn that large-scale verification could force widespread collection of sensitive data.