Latest news Australia's social media ban in force for anyone under 16
Australia is making history in digital child protection: with immediate effect, children and young people under the age of 16 are no longer allowed to have their own accounts on many major social media platforms. Ten services are affected, including Instagram, Tiktok, Snapchat, Facebook, YouTube, X, Reddit and Twitch. However, at least in the first few hours after this globally unique ban came into force on Wednesday, some of those affected seemed to be able to circumvent it by providing false age information - or did not even notice it.
10.12.2025, 13:16
SDA
On the affected platforms such as Reddit and Tiktok, there were an increasing number of posts stating that nothing had changed for some users under the age of 16. On Tiktok, one user wrote to Australia's prime minister: "Dear Anthony Albanese, I bypassed your ban."
Numerous other teenagers reported that their accounts were also still active, even though the law had actually already come into force. "I'm still here," commented several accounts under a Tiktok video of the Prime Minister on Wednesday evening (local time), in which he praises the new regulation in a series of pictures. The government had previously announced that not all affected accounts may be blocked immediately on December 10. Ten services are affected by the ban, including Instagram, Tiktok, Snapchat, Facebook, YouTube, X, Reddit and Twitch.
Albanese, for his part, insisted that the ban was already a success despite the obvious loopholes that still exist: "Success is the fact that it is happening. Success is the fact that we are having this discussion," he said at an event in Sydney, according to the Australian news agency AAP.
Highly controversial law
The highly controversial law was passed at the end of 2024 and came into force on Wednesday (local time) despite criticism and an appeal to the Supreme Court. Almost all major parties had supported Prime Minister Albanese's initiative in parliament. The platforms were given twelve months to adapt to the new age restrictions.
The aim is to protect children and young people from the risks associated with the use of social media - such as excessive screen time, cyberbullying and the consumption of content that can have a negative impact on mental and ultimately physical health.
"Normal childhood" instead of endless scrolling
Online safety campaigner Julie Inman Grant said later access to social media gives young people valuable time to develop without the "powerful, invisible forces of opaque algorithms and endless scrolling".
Albanese described social media as a "scourge" of today's society, keeping young people away from a normal childhood with real friends and real experiences. "We want our youngest Australians to spend more time outside, playing sport, interacting with each other in a normal way - and less time online." In a video message to children and young people, he appealed to them to use the upcoming Christmas break to learn an instrument, read books or do something with their family instead of being glued to their smartphones.
In a television interview, Albanese described December 10 as a "day of pride" for him and his government. The law supports parents in their efforts to protect their children, he said. Social media is like an addictive substance that "triggers something in the brains of users that makes them scroll further and further - and of course it affects adults in exactly the same way". In a recent interview with 7News, he admitted that the law may not be perfect, but that it will certainly be emulated: "We are leading the world here, but the world will follow Australia."
Will other countries follow?
Discussions are now taking place in many countries. Manfred Weber, leader of the European People's Party and therefore the largest political group in the European Parliament, spoke out in favor of a social media ban for children based on the Australian model. "Today, children are not allowed to go to the cinema for some films, but they have access to everything on their cell phones," the EPP leader told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper (Wednesday edition). "We must also transfer the rules of the real world to the digital world." Specifically, Weber spoke out in favor of a ban on access under the age of 13 and a requirement for parental consent between the ages of 13 and 16.
The European Parliament recently voted with a clear majority in favor of the call for an EU-wide minimum age. However, the adopted report is not yet binding. The government in Denmark recently agreed with the opposition in parliament to introduce a national age limit of 15 years for access to certain social media.
Waiting in Germany for proposals from expert panel
There is currently no statutory minimum age in Germany. Theoretically, the parents of young people under the age of 16 would have to consent to their use - but this is rarely verified. In addition, birth dates can easily be falsified during registration.
Politically, we will first have to wait and see what an expert commission set up by Federal Minister for Family Affairs Karin Prien (CDU) will propose in September. The committee, made up of scientists and practitioners from fields such as medicine and youth protection, is to draw up concrete recommendations by the summer. These include possible age limits and the much-discussed issue of banning cell phones in schools.
Jens Spahn, head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, said in September that an age limit of 16 was being discussed in the CDU and CSU. He compared social media apps to hard drugs: "According to brain researchers, apps such as Instagram and Tiktok stimulate the reward system in the brain in much the same way as heroin."
Platforms face fines
Now that the ban has come into force in Australia, the responsibility lies explicitly with the platforms, not parents or their children. Anyone under 16 will not be punished, but the services will be if they disregard the regulations. Platforms that do not carry out age checks face hefty fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (27.9 million euros).
According to Australian media reports, Reddit is already preparing to challenge the ban in court. The social media platform had previously stated that it would comply with the requirements, although the terms of the law were unacceptable.
Messaging and email services, voice and video calls, online games and educational services are exempt from the ban. Popular gaming platforms such as Roblox and apps such as Whatsapp or Messenger are also - at least so far - not covered by the new regulation.
Young plaintiff is reminiscent of Orwell's "1984"
It was only at the end of November that the organization "Digital Freedom Project" filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court in Canberra. The group argues that the ban is excessive and a "direct attack on young people's right to free political communication". Two 15-year-olds are appearing as plaintiffs. One of them, a girl called Macy, feels that the law is reminiscent of George Orwell's novel "1984", which describes a totalitarian surveillance society.
But it's not just young people who are skeptical, experts and critics are too. Many say that teenagers would simply switch to other services, such as gaming or messaging platforms, where risk and control are even more difficult.
How is age verified?
Online services such as Snapchat asked hundreds of thousands of users to prove their age shortly before launch. The notices were sent to accounts that Snapchat believed to be used by children and young people under the age of 16. The platform used "behavior-based signals" from the activities as well as self-reported age data.
However, affected users were given the opportunity to download their own data such as chats, reminders and videos in advance. The accounts are now blocked - and will remain so until the users are 16.
