Australia is making headlines globally by becoming the pioneer in prohibiting children from accessing some of the most popular social media platforms.

This groundbreaking decision has sparked debate, with critics labeling it as overly restrictive and expressing concerns about the potential for kids to bypass these limitations. Here’s an overview of how the regulation will function and what it means for young Australians.

Essentially, platforms labeled as “age-restricted” will be prohibited from allowing individuals under 16 to register for an account.

These regulations will become enforceable following the government’s approval of the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024, which passed in November last year.

Furthermore, parents will not have the ability to authorize their under-16 children to sign up for accounts on the affected platforms.

Parents also will not be able to give consent for their children under 16 to be able to create an account on impacted platforms.

However, the government insists it is not a ban, rather a “delay” to having an account.

“But the social media minimum age laws will make a meaningful difference.”

What sites are being banned for under 16s?

You may be wondering what an age-restricted platform looks like. These are currently the platforms that will be hit by the ban:

According to the eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, these platforms have been included in the ban because their “sole or significant purpose is to enable online social interaction between two or more users”.

These platforms also allow users to post their own content and material, as well as allowing users to interact with all other users on the platform.

For some platforms such as YouTube and Reddit, children under 16 will still be able to watch videos or view threads, as an account is not required to access them; however, they will not be allowed to create accounts, or to post comments or content on them.

What platforms can under-16s use?

The government has clarified which platforms will still be fully accessible to children under 16-years-old.

Popular streaming platforms Discord and Twitch have not been included in the social media ban despite both allowing users to connect with each other and content to be posted.

Messaging platforms like Messenger and WhatsApp have also been excluded from the ban.

Other well-known platforms to be excluded are:

The eSafety Commissioner has clarified the list is not final, and more alterations could be made before the ban begins.

When does the social media ban start?

The social media ban begins in exactly one month on December 10.

What will happen to me if I have a current account on an age-restricted platform?

As it stands, accounts of children on impacted platforms will have to be removed or deactivated.

Under the legislation, platforms must take “reasonable steps” to enforce this.

This will vary between platforms given each have different circumstances, so there is no concrete method platforms must follow to ensure accounts are deactivated.

However, they must prove to the eSafety Commissioner the steps they have taken are reasonable.

They also note such measures need to be done with “kindness, care, and clear communication”.

They recommend against adding self-declaration of age for existing account holders, due to the ability of people to lie or circumvent this restriction.

How will the social media ban be enforced?

It will be up to the platforms themselves to enforce the new measures, with legislation putting them under heavy pressure to do so.

If they don’t, serious financial penalties could hit platforms who fail to adequately enforce the new laws.

This can include fines of up to $49.5 million.

Platforms have been recommended to assess “age-related signals” to identify accounts which could fall foul of the ban; this includes how long an account has been active, whether an account interacts with content targeted at children, and visual checks such as age analysis of a profile photo of an account holder.

Interestingly, children who are found to be accessing an age-restricted platform after the ban comes into effect will not be met with any punishment, nor will their parents or carers.

This is because the government insists the law is about protecting children from harmful content on the platforms, and they believe punishment would have a detrimental impact.