The Australian government’s landmark legislation to protect children and young teenagers from the potential harms of social media is set to become law after it passed the Senate.
On November 7, 2024, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese first announced his plans to introduce a nationwide minimum age requirement for social media access.
“This one is for the mums and dads… They, like me, are worried sick about the safety of our kids online. I want Australian families to know that the government has your back,” Mr Albanese said.
Both major parties backed the social media ban, and the legislation passed on November 29, 2024.
Australia is now the first country to ban children under 16 from using social media.
Here’s what you need to know about the social media ban and what it means for Australian families.
Is social media being banned?
No, social media is not being entirely banned in Australia.
Instead, this new law will restrict access for children and teenagers under the age of 16.
This age limit will apply broadly to popular platforms, dubbed “age-restricted social media platforms” in the proposed Online Safety Act. This includes Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, as well as other platforms classified as “social media” by the law.
On November 22, 2024, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland clarified some of the bills’ inclusions. Michelle confirmed that the ban would not apply to messaging services like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, and exemptions would be made for social media sites used for education and health such as Headspace, Kids Helpline, Google Classroom and YouTube.
Why should social media be banned for under 16s?
Mr Albanese cited concerns about the negative impact of social media on young people’s mental health as a primary motivation behind the new law.
“Social media is causing harm to our kids, and I’m calling time on it,” he said.
How old do you have to be to have social media in Australia?
Under the new law, Australians must be at least 16 years of age to access social media platforms.
Currently, some platforms have a minimum age of 13. However, the Albanese government will increase this threshold. The government has cited the challenges younger users face in navigating complex online spaces safely.
The new social media ban is expected to come into effect within the next 12 months, giving platforms ample time to implement technical solutions for age verification. However, whether this is enough time for this action to happen is another conversation.
It has also been announced that this new law will not allow “grandfathering,”. This means that underage users on social media will have their access removed once it comes into force.
How will the social media ban work?
The only feasible way it could work is if both the government and the social media companies had access to users’ privacy data. Which can be a concerning thought to many.
At this stage, it looks like the responsibility for enforcement will rest with social media companies. The big question is regarding data. How will the social media companies (or the government) be able to verify a user’s age and where will that data be stored?
In short, we don’t know what data will be needed, how it will be sourced, and where it will be stored and verified.
How will users’ data be protected?
The government has promised “robust” protections for users’ data but is passing the buck to the social media companies to figure it out.
Furthermore, they have stated that once the user’s age is verified “it [the collected data] must be destroyed by the platform (or any third party contracted by the platform)”. Non-compliance will result in a $50 million fine under the Privacy Act. So, essentially, it would require a centralised database. The social media giants and third-party verification services would use it to link up individual social media accounts to real identities.
There’s no confirmation on how these parties would verify a person’s age. Most likely by viewing government-issued documents like passports or driving licences. So they would be part of the data on this database. There’s also a clause that allows for a future minister to expand on other requirements without legislation.
How will the social media ban be enforced?
The tech giants will be required to take “reasonable steps” to prevent users under 16 years of age from accessing their platforms.
Plus, as aforementioned, if they don’t comply, social media companies could face fines of up to $50 million.
“Age-restricted users” will not be penalised if they manage to open an account and even the tech giants won’t be on the hook for fines if there are individuals who flout the ban. They would only be fined for “systematic” failures of the new “systems and processes” the government will be expecting them to build.
“This is a landmark reform,” Mr Albanese said in a statement. “We know some kids will find workarounds, but we’re sending a message to social media companies to clean up their act.”
The eSafety commissioner will be in charge of ensuring compliance and issuing penalties to platforms that fail to uphold the law.
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