Australia landmark law bans under-16s from social media

Australia will ban children under 16 from using social media after its Senate approved what will become a world-first law.

- JABED AHMED

It is a move the Australian government argues is necessary to protect the mental health and wellbeing of children. The legislation does not specify which platforms will be banned as these decisions will be made later – but communications minister Michelle Rowland has previously said that TikTok, X, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit and Facebook are likely to be part of the ban.

The law will impose fines of up to AU$50m (£26m) on platforms for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts. Gaming and messenger platforms are exempt, as are websites that can be accessed without an account, which should mean YouTube is unaffected.

The ban will take effect a year after the bill becomes law, allowing platforms time to work out technological solutions that would also protect users’ privacy. A trial of methods to enforce it will start in January.

The Senate passed the bill by 34 votes to 19 yesterday, after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved the legislation by 102 votes to 13 on Wednesday. It now goes back to the lower house – where the government has a majority – to approve amendments, before becoming law.