(LifeSiteNews) — Australia has begun enforcing the world’s first social media ban for minors 16 years old and younger.
While hailed as a victory by parents and child advocates, the new law, predictably, is being strongly opposed by the nation’s teens and 10 of the world’s social media giants.
Technology companies whose access by teens is now restricted include Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Snapchat, TikTok, Reddit, X, YouTube, Twitch and Kick. Minors are no longer permitted to maintain accounts on those platforms.
The federal government has acknowledged that the ban will not be “100 percent effective” keeping teens off those sites, according to Australia’s 9News.
While minors will not face punishment for finding ways to continue accessing these sites, the tech companies that manage the platforms put themselves at risk if they fail to take “reasonable steps” to prevent kids under 16 from having accounts.
If found to be in sufficient compliance with the new ban, Australia’s eSafety Commission can pursue civil penalties of up to $49.5 million.
Platforms that have not been banned include Discord, GitHub, Google Classroom, LEGO Play, Messenger, Pinterest, Roblox, Steam and Steam Chat, WhatsApp, YouTube Kids.
Snapchat asserted that “disconnecting teens from their friends and family doesn’t make them safer” and YouTube said “rushed” new laws will mean parents “lose their ability to supervise their teen or tween’s account,” according to a BBC report.
Former Facebook Australia chief Stephen Scheeler offered a different perspective, saying that “this new era feels like a ‘seat belt moment’ for social media – referring to car safety innovations of the 20th Century, BBC reported.
“What was once dismissed as alarmism is now recognized as a global public health crisis, and governments everywhere are being pushed to act as a result of Australia’s lead,” Dr. Danielle Einstein, a clinical psychologist and adjunct fellow at the School of Psychological Sciences at Macquarie University and a researcher on social media use and anxiety, told 9News.
“It is time to wake up to the rising levels of aggression, anxiety and anger and the poisonous impact of social media on our society,” Einstein said. “We are no longer hanging onto the idea that unregulated social media use is a ‘safe haven’ for mental health. This is a win for children in Australia and youth around the world.”
Other nations, including the U.S. may follow Australia’s lead
Australian Communications Minister Anika Wells told the BBC that leaders in other countries have been knocking on her door for advice, including the European Union, Fiji, Greece and Malta.
Indonesia is reportedly considering following in Australia’s footsteps, and the UK may establish measures short of a full ban by imposing limits on the amount of time kids can spend on social media.
Norway already restricts those under 13 from accessing social media and is considering expanding raising the age threshold to 15.
After the first of the year, France will consider a bill that would ban all social media, except messaging services, for minors under age 15, with platforms required to verify users’ ages, according to France24.
Additionally, a proposed digital curfew for French teens age 15-18 would block access to social media from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. in order to “promote healthy sleep patterns and curb addictive nighttime usage,” France24 reported.
“Social media apps are designed to hold young people’s attention and monetize it to generate advertising revenue,” Floriane Didier, from Lève les Yeux, an association that helps parents and young people fight screen addiction, told France24. “Young people get locked in the algorithm.”
“There is an ocean of harmful content and a few small islands of positive content which are not promoted by the algorithm,” French MP Laure Miller asserted.
“The idea that a young person can use social media a reasonable amount is contradictory – it’s not possible,” Miller said. “Young people are addicted, just as we adults can be, but they are more vulnerable.”
In the U.S., Florida has already attempted to ban kids under 14 from holding social media accounts. However, a judge blocked that move, citing it as a violation of free speech. A similar effort in Utah failed to pass scrutiny by the courts.
“In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills this fall that require social media platforms to display health warning labels to minors and require apps to check kids’ ages,” Politico reported, and in Maryland, “Gov. Wes Moore signed a ‘Kids Code’ last year that aims to limit data tech companies can collect from children but is mired in a legal battle.”
Former Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, a Democrat who is considering a presidential run, indicated to Politico that he wants the U.S. to follow Australia’s lead, as he accused the big social media platforms of prioritizing profits over “protecting our adolescents.”
Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, who is likewise mulling a 2028 presidential run, has expressed similar concerns. Earlier this year, he introduced a bill that would ban children under age 13 from social media.
