Australia's social media ban for under-16s stirs unease and praise

Kids can now 'have their childhood', while families regain control: PM Albanese

- Jonathan Pearlman

Some question how effective the social media ban will be, as they expect many younger users to work around it by using the logins of older siblings or parents, fake identification, VPNs to disguise their location, or apps that are not banned. PHOTO: REUTERS

(REUTERS)

Addison Grant, a 13-year-old in Perth, went to check her Snapchat account for what she thought would be her last time before Australia's world-first ban on social media for under-16s began at midnight.

To her surprise, Addison discovered that she had already been locked out, as the platform had introduced the ban hours before the deadline.

"I wasn't expecting it to come so soon," she told The Straits Times, about 40 minutes after being barred. "I didn't get to say goodbye to people."

Addison was one of millions of children and teenagers affected by the ban, which started on Dec 10 and bars youth under the age of 16 from using social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Threads, X, Snapchat, TikTok and Reddit.

The Federal Government imposed the ban to address concerns that social media platforms are being used for bullying, grooming and sexual extortion and are leading to a rise in youth suicide rates.

"This is a day in which my pride to be prime minister of Australia has never been greater," Mr Anthony Albanese told reporters on Dec 10. "This reform will change lives for Australian kids and allow them to just have their childhood... It is about our families taking back control."

The ban requires social media platforms to prevent under-16s having their own account or posting and commenting. Companies that fail to take "reasonable steps" to keep underage users off their platforms face fines of A$49.5 million (S$42.6 million).