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Reddit and live-streaming platform Kick will be included in Australia’s social media ban for children under the age of 16 after previously being considered.
Children under age 16 will be booted off social platforms from 10 December, with exceptions for health and education services, including WhatsApp and Meta’s Messenger Kids.
The federal government has announced the world-leading reforms will also apply to Reddit and Kick.
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube and X are among the platforms that will need to take “reasonable steps” to prevent under-16s from holding accounts.
Major technology firms that don’t comply with new regulations could be slapped with penalties reaching up to $49.5 million.
Social media users cannot be forced to provide government-issued ID as the sole method to prove their age online and must be offered other options.
The law puts the onus for compliance on the tech companies to “detect and deactivate or remove” accounts from underage users.
About 1.5 million accounts on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Threads and X will be deactivated in less than two months as a result.
eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant previously wrote to Reddit and other platforms asking them to self-assess whether they would be captured under the ban.
Communications Minister Anika Wells revealed that she recently held meetings with leading social media companies within the past month to ensure they “comprehend there is no room for error in adhering to this legislation.”
“ESafety has assessed eight platforms as requiring age restriction but their assessments will be ongoing and this list is dynamic,” she said.
“We aren’t chasing perfection. We are chasing a meaningful difference.”
Grant encouraged parents and young people to download the commission’s resources and register for a live webinar where questions about the social media age restrictions can be answered.
“Delaying children’s access to social media accounts gives them valuable time to learn and grow, free of the powerful, unseen forces of opaque algorithms and endless scroll,” she said.
