Australian teens bid farewell to social media as world-first ban comes into force: ‘See you when I’m 16’
Australia started enforcing a world-first prohibition on social media for children under 16 on Wednesday, compelling platforms to lock out young users or risk heavy financial penalties.
The measure, which took effect at midnight, requires 10 of the largest social networks, including TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X, to keep away under-16s or face fines of up to A$49.5m (£26.5m), making it one of the world’s toughest digital restrictions.
The prime minister hailed the start of the ban as “a proud day”, insisting that Australia had shown countries everywhere that online harms did not need to be accepted as an inevitable feature of modern childhood.
“This will make an enormous difference,” Anthony Albanese claimed. “It’s one of the biggest social and cultural changes that our nation has faced. It’s a profound reform which will continue to reverberate around the world.”
But in the hours before the law came into force, many young users posted mournful public farewells. “No more social media,” one teenager said on TikTok, “no more contact with the rest of the world.”
Other users added tags such as “#seeyouwhenim16”.
The ban is expected to affect over a million accounts.
The prime minister posted a video message encouraging children to use the summer break from later this month to “start a new sport, new instrument, or read that book that has been sitting there for some time on your shelf”.
Though the prohibition has been welcomed by some parents’ groups and child safety advocates, major technology companies and civil liberties organisations have warned that it could compromise privacy, encourage children to lie about their age and push young people onto riskier platforms.
The law arrived after a year of political debate in Australia over whether governments could realistically enforce age limits on platforms that played a critical role in social life, education, entertainment and communication.
The Albanese government argued the intervention was necessary, citing research linking heavy social-media use among younger teens to harmful content, bullying, misinformation and damaging effects on body image.
Other countries have already signalled interest in adopting similar rules. Officials in Denmark, New Zealand and Malaysia have cited the Australian model as a potential blueprint, signalling a wider shift towards tighter age controls in the digital sphere.
Julie Inman Grant, the American-born former tech executive who heads Australia’s online-safety watchdog, said demands for stricter measures were rising across the world.
Elon Musk’s X was the latest major platform to confirm it would comply with the ban.
