Australia is on the brink of implementing a significant change in how young people interact with social media. Starting December 10, a ban will prohibit those under 16 from using some of the most popular platforms. However, this list of age-restricted sites may expand beyond the initial cutoff.

The current mandate affects platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, but others, such as Discord and Messenger, remain exempt for now. This could change, though, as authorities remain vigilant about how young users might adapt to these restrictions.

Communications Minister Anika Wells and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant are keenly aware that teenagers will likely seek out alternative spaces online once their favorite accounts are deactivated. They are prepared to include additional platforms in the ban if necessary to ensure compliance with the new age restrictions.

“We will be closely monitoring where young people migrate and will engage in dialogue with these companies,” Inman Grant emphasized. This proactive stance underscores the commitment to safeguarding the digital environment for younger users.

“We will be watching the migratory patterns, and we’ll be talking to these companies,” Inman Grant said.

“It’s not going to be perfect, but the normative change in the mid-to long-term will be significant.”

Wells singled out Lemon8, a photo and video-sharing social media platform developed by ByteDance, the same Chinese technology company behind TikTok.

Many US teens migrated to the platform when they briefly lost access to TikTok at the start of the year.

“If we find that because they’ve been locked out of Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, what have you, they end up on Lemon8, then we will look at whether the harm has transferred there and whether we need to add them to the list,” Wells said.

“We’ll have more to say about Lemon8 this week, so stay tuned.”

What sites and apps are not included in Australia’s social media ban?

Platforms currently exempt from the under-16s social media ban include:

The eSafety Commissioner said that this list is not final and more platforms may be made exempt at a later date.

Why are these sites exempt?

These sites have been excluded from the age-based social media ban because they fall under one of several exempt classes.

But platforms that are currently exempt are not guaranteed to stay that way.

Many platforms serve multiple purposes and the eSafety Commissioner will update the list of exempt and age-restricted platforms based on each platform’s primary purpose.

That purpose may change as the ban comes into effect.

“LinkedIn is currently an exempt platform,” the Minister for Communications said.

“If everybody ends up on LinkedIn, and LinkedIn becomes a place where there is online bullying, algorithms targeting 13- to 16-year-olds in a way that’s deteriorating their mental and physical health, then we will go after LinkedIn, and that’s why all platforms are on notice.”

What sites and apps are included in Australia’s social media ban?

Social media platforms must meet four specific conditions to be age-restricted under the ban.

Several platforms have already been classified as age-restricted and under-16s will be unable to access existing accounts or create new ones from December 10.

These age-restricted platforms include:

Additional platforms may become age-restricted after the ban comes into effect and under-16s migrate to other sites and services.

“We watched what American kids did when TikTok went blank,” Inman Grant said.

“They went to Rednote, they went to Lemon8, which is an Instagram clone.

“We expected there will be some migration, and some of these will become age restricted social media platforms.”