Why is Australia Banning Children Under 16 From Social Media?

This summer, the Australian government is going to extraordinary lengths to make sure the country’s incredibly online teens touch grass.

Starting December 10, social media companies will face fines of up to roughly €28 million for failing to prevent people under 16 from having accounts on their platforms. For now, the ban will apply to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter) and YouTube.

The Australian government on Wednesday expanded the list of restricted platforms to include Kick, a domestic competitor of streaming giant Twitch, and the online forum Reddit – currently the seventh most-visited site in the world.

Platforms designed solely for messaging, voice or video calling or online gaming are exempt from the restriction – Messenger, WhatsApp and Discord are all untouched by the ban.

Other exemptions include platforms primarily designed for education, professional networking and connecting users with healthcare providers or similar support services.

How will it work?

Teens and children under 16 will still be able to see content on restricted platforms that isn’t blocked off behind a log-in – so there’s nothing stopping a 12-year-old from watching a non-age-restricted video on YouTube or scrolling through a subreddit discussing their favourite fantasy series.

But they won’t be able to comment, or upload content of their own – and by staying logged out, the government says, they will avoid the kind of profit-driven personalised design features that push social media users to spend longer and longer at their screens, bombarding them with notifications and filling their feeds with ever-more extreme or upsetting posts.

A report released by Australia’s eSafety commissioner found that four out of five respondents between the ages of eight and 12 had used one or more social media platforms in 2024. 

"Online platforms use technology to target children with chilling control," Communications Minister Anika Wells said Wednesday. "We are merely asking they use that same technology to keep children safe online.”

Why is this happening?

The Australian government maintains that the restriction is a much-needed measure to fight back against what a growing body of research suggests is a worsening mental health crisis fuelled by excessive social media use.

One study in the US found that adolescents who spent more than three hours a day on social media faced double the risk of experiencing poor mental health, including symptoms of anxiety or depression. By contrast, limiting social media use to under half an hour a day seemed to have positive mental health outcomes for both teenagers and adults.

- Author: Paul MILLAR, France24

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