What to know about Australia's social media ban for young teens

There are an estimated 440,000 young Australian teens, aged 13 to 15, on Snapchat.

- Victoria Kim

On Instagram, 350,000 in that age group are active users and on TikTok, 200,000. Even Facebook - not exactly squarely in the Gen Alpha zeitgeist - reportedly has 150,000.

Come Dec 10, those numbers are supposed to drastically change under a landmark law that will require users in Australia to be at least 16 to have accounts on those platforms and other social media services.

The roll-out of the law, kinks and all, will be closely watched by parents, researchers and government officials around the world.

Australia's experience may serve as a template for the authorities in other places - including Denmark, the European Union and Malaysia - planning to impose similar restrictions or a cautionary tale of the potential pitfalls.

Here is how the law is expected to work.

WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA SERVICES ARE COVERED BY THE LAW?

The platforms currently affected by the law are Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X and YouTube.

Other services widely used by young teens were excluded because Australia’s eSafety commissioner deemed them to be primarily for messaging or gaming, including: Discord, Messenger, Pinterest, Roblox, WhatsApp and YouTube Kids.

Regulators say they will continue to monitor and review the services and may add to the list of age-restricted apps.