Australia kicks teens off social apps. The global policy test begins

Australia on Wednesday became the first country to officially ban users under the age of 16 from accessing major social media platforms, a move expected to be closely watched by global technology companies and policymakers around the world.

The ban imposed by Canberra, which took effect at midnight local time, targets 10 major services, including… alphabetyoutube, deadInstagram and TikTok from ByteDance, Reddit, Snapchat And Elon Musk X.

The controversial rule requires these platforms to take “reasonable steps” to prevent access by minors, using age–Verification methods such as inference from online activity, facial estimation via selfies, uploaded IDs, or linked banking details.

All targeted platforms have agreed to adhere to the policy to some extent. Elon Musk’s X company was one of the last companies to reject the decision, but indicated on Wednesday that it would abide by the decision.

The policy means millions of Australian children are expected to lose access to their social accounts.

However, the impact of this policy could be broader, as it would set a standard for other governments considering social media bans for teenagers, including Denmark, Norway, France, Spain, Malaysia and New Zealand.

Before the legislation was passed last year, A YouGov poll It found that 77% of Australians support a social media ban for under-16s. However, this proposal has faced some resistance since it became law.

Supporters of the bill say it protects children from the harms associated with social media, including cyberbullying, mental health issues, exposure to predators and pornography.

Among those who welcomed the official ban on Wednesday was Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist and author of The Anxious Generation, a 2024 bestseller that linked the growing mental health crisis to smartphone and social media use, especially among young people.

In a post on the social media platform X, Haidt Policymakers praised In Australia “to free children under 16 from the social media trap”.

He added: “There will certainly be difficulties in the first months, but the world encourages your success, and many other countries will follow.”

On the other hand, opponents contend that the ban violates freedoms of expression and access to information, raises privacy concerns through age verification, and represents excessive government interference that undermines parental responsibility.

These critics include groups such as Amnesty International, which said in a statement On Tuesday, the ban was an ineffective solution that ignored the rights and realities of younger generations.

“The most effective way to protect children and young people online is to protect all social media users through better regulation, stronger data protection laws and better platform design,” said Damini Satya, Technology Program Director at Amnesty International.

Meanwhile, David Inserra, a free speech and technology fellow at the Cato Institute, warned in a blog post that children will evade the new policy by turning to new platforms, or private apps like Telegram, or VPNs, pushing them into “more isolated communities and platforms with less protection” where monitoring is more difficult.

Technology companies like Google He was also warned This policy may be very difficult to implement, while reports issued by the government have indicated inaccuracies in the age–Verification technology, such as photo-based age–Estimation programs.

In fact, on Wednesday, local Reports In Australia, she notes that many children have already bypassed the ban, with age-guarantee tools misclassifying users, and workarounds such as VPNs proving effective.

However, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has tried to get ahead of the issues, admitting in an op-ed on Sunday that the system would not work flawlessly from the start, likening it to liquor laws.

He added: “The fact that teenagers sometimes find a way to get drunk does not diminish the value of having a clear national standard.”

Experts told CNBC that the rollout is expected to continue to face challenges and that regulators will need to take a trial-and-error approach.

“There’s a fair amount of teething issues around this. Many young people have posted on TikTok that they’ve successfully evaded the age restrictions and that’s to be expected,” said Terry Flo, professor of digital communications and culture at the University of Sydney.

“You’ll never get 100% disappearance of everyone under 16 from every single platform on day one,” he added.