Australia to ban under-16s from social media after passing landmark law
Australia will ban children under 16 from using social media after its senate approved what will become a world-first law.
It is a move the Australian government argue 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 50 million Australian dollars (£26 million) 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.