Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban Starts Tomorrow: Big Fines Ahead

Australia is set to make headlines on a global scale by being the first nation to implement a mandatory minimum age for social media use. Starting from December 10, the likes of Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube will legally have to exclude users younger than 16 or they would be liable to pay hefty fines of up to A$49.5 million (US$33 million).

This law has been extended to cover the ten most popular platforms and was created with the intention of shielding minors from online predators. Nevertheless, the regulation has ignited a blazing discussion rather than getting applause.

Teen-Led Backlash: “This Will Make the Internet More Unsafe”

Free-speech proponents, tech companies and kids are the ones that have voiced the strongest opposition against the law.

Noah Jones, a 15-year-old boy, has sent the case into the High Court, claiming that the prohibition would not protect kids—it would only drive them into the dark, unregulated corners of the internet.

According to Jones, social media is like a "modern-day town center" where people can connect, create a community, and express themselves. He believes that if kids are banned from using the platforms, they will break the rules in large numbers and this will create more risks rather than reducing them.

More Countries Considering Similar Restrictions

Australia could be the first, but it might not be long before others follow.

As per Reuters, countries such as Denmark and Malaysia and various US states are looking at implementing regulations similar to that of Australia.

Analysts indicate that the world is very eager to see how Australia fights against the tech giants.

“This social media prohibition is the canary in the mine,” said Tama Leaver, who is a Professor of Internet Studies at Curtin University. Governments are pushing the boundary to see how far they can go in regulating digital platforms for child safety.

Even the British government has declared that it is keeping a very close watch on Australia's decision and has declared that “nothing is off the table” in terms of online child protection.

How Platforms Are Responding: Compliance, Concerns, and Criticism

At first, the ban is going to be imposed on the ten main platforms such as:

• YouTube
• Instagram (Meta)
• TikTok
• X (Twitter)

All the platforms with the exception of X have consented to use age inference technology for compliance.

But Elon Musk has condemned the step, describing it “as a backdoor means to control internet access for all Australians.” Other companies argue that the act violates the freedom of speech.

Curiously, platforms claim that they do not have a significant revenue coming from users under 16 but the prohibition is a disruption for their future user pipeline.