SOCIAL MEDIA BAN FIRMS UP

GLOBAL ATTENTION ON AUSTRALIA BAN LINKED TO ITS TOUGHER STANCE, EXPERTS SAY

- STORY: BYRON KAYE / REUTERS

A teenager holding a mobile phone as a law banning social media for users under 16 in Australia takes effect, in Sydney on Dec 10, 2025.

Since Australia banned children from using social media in December, lawmakers from Spain to Malaysia have expressed interest in following suit, while US courts have found tech firms negligent toward young users.

This global spotlight on the first such ban on people under 16 using popular apps appears to have encouraged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government to ramp up enforcement of what it was touting as successful cooperation with industry two months ago, tech policy experts say.

In getting more aggressive with apps such as Instagram and TikTok, Mr Albanese’s centre-left government is pleased with the overseas interest — at least eight countries have said they want similar curbs — but keen to counter the news that many teens are still scrolling on their phones, experts say.

“The whole world’s watching Australia in this experiment, and therefore it looks like weak government to back down or pretend that the failures in reasonable efforts aren’t happening,” said Jeannie Paterson, co-founder of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Ethics, who regularly advises government on tech policy.

A spokesman for Communications Minister Anika Wells said she had not toughened her stance due to global attention, declining to comment further on the controversy.