Australia Imposes World's First Under-16 Social Media Ban
Australia will soon bar anyone aged 15 and under from using major social media platforms — an unprecedented national ban set to take effect Wednesday — leaving many young users bracing for sudden offline life, according to Nikkei.
Fourteen-year-old TikTok creator Zoey, whose account will be frozen despite more than 50,000 followers, told Nikkei Asia she expects to feel “much less connected” and “very isolated.” She called the ban “very much digital exclusion, because you’re excluding us from a huge part of the world, not just Australia, it’s the world.”
Under the new rules, companies like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and X must keep under-16s off their platforms or face fines up to A$49.5 million. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended the law as a safety measure, saying, “Social media is doing social harm to our kids. We’ve called time on it… We want our kids to have a childhood.”
Tech giants including Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube say they will comply, though Google called the policy “disappointing” and argued it “will, in fact, make Australian kids less safe on YouTube,” according to Nikkei Asia.
The ban has sparked discussion among children, parents and regulators. Some young Australians say they’ll try to circumvent restrictions. Zoey hinted she will look for workarounds and posted advice to followers, while her father told Nikkei Asia, “The kids are smart, I guarantee you now that they will find a way around it… it’s a typical overreaction by the government.”
Other families praise the policy. Thirteen-year-old Bella said she expects her attention span to improve: “I'll just find things to do.” Her mother added, “It’ll definitely benefit the young ones and help them become kids again.”
Communications Minister Anika Wells warned of pushback but said the disruption is necessary. “Teenage addiction was not a bug, it was a design feature,” she said, arguing that “short-term discomfort” will pay off over time.
Yet the majority of children disagree. A national survey cited by Nikkei Asia found 70% of kids aged 9-15 oppose the ban, and most do not plan to stop using social media even after it begins.
Zoey has already petitioned the government to lower the age to 13, arguing the crackdown misunderstands young people. “Social media is here to stay,” she said. “The government needs to get behind it.”