Australia’s under-16 social media ban starts in December. Here’s what it means for your family, your sanity, and your kids’ Snapchat streaks.
I can’t be the only parent confused as hell about Australia’s new social media ban on under-16s. These new rules kick in just as the school year ends, and I’m already bracing for the teenage meltdowns. TikTok tears, government fears, and one confused parent trying to make sense of it all – thanks, Government 🖕.
So in light of all this, I took a trip down the proverbial social media rabbit hole – and yep, it’s a mess down there.
Fun Facts
- From December 10, kids under 16 will be banned from social media.
- Platforms like Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook must take “reasonable steps” to stop under-16s from having accounts.
- Companies face fines of up to $49.5 million for repeated failures.
- Parents and kids won’t be fined – the rules only target platforms.
- The eSafety Commissioner will oversee and enforce compliance with the eSafety Act.
What’s actually happening
Australia’s about to ban under-16s from social media. From December 10 (the last week of the school term), Snapchat, TikTok, Instagram, X and YouTube will be required to take “reasonable steps” to stop kids aged under 16 from having accounts. If they don’t, they face fines of up to $49.5 million!
Not a bad little revenue-raising exercise there, Aussie Government. Wonder what they’ll spend the cash on? Maybe a new department to track down teenagers with fake birthdays and too much free time?
It all started in South Australia too. The Malinauskas Government kicked it off with a report by former Chief Justice Robert French, arguing that social media harms kids. That report became the blueprint for the national law now rolling out.
Sounds simple, it’s not
The idea sounds simple, but the implementation will be far from it. Platforms will have to block new underage users and shut down existing ones, but no one agrees on how to do it. Some platforms might ask for photo ID, others could use facial recognition, and a few will rely on algorithms that “guess” your age based on behaviour. So, to protect our kids from the dangers of social media, we’ll now hand social-media companies even more of our personal data. Makes perfect sense if you live in upside-down land.
For families like mine, this is going to sting. We made a rule years ago that our kids could have social media at 13, and by the time our youngest finally reached this magic milestone early this year, I’d already seen the headlines about the proposed 16-and-over law. I nearly held off altogether, but after two years of my son’s relentless lobbying and “everyone else has it!” speeches, I caved. Now I get to spend the Christmas holidays explaining why the government has taken it away.
Let’s be real
The goal is noble, and there’s no doubt that we all want to keep our kids safe online, but the cracks in this system are as obvious as a fart in an elevator. Kids will lie about their birthdays, use fake names, or find new platforms the second one gets blocked. Parents will be left to decide whether to play by the rules or quietly fudge a date of birth to keep the peace.
Governments can make all the rules they want, but at the end of the day, online safety comes down to more than age restrictions. We have to talk to our kids, at all ages, about what they’re seeing online, how to stay safe, and what to do when things go wrong. The internet isn’t going anywhere, and neither are the dangers.
I’m certainly not convinced this will work, and wish we could turn back time to the 90s, when we played Snake on our Nokia 3310 and called it a day.
