Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, Kick, Twitch and TikTok are affected by the ban.
Australia has enacted the world’s first social media ban for minors under the age of 16, a move to bolster child safety that has brought both praise and criticism.
The ban affects Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, Kick, Twitch and TikTok, all of which are now required to employ technology such as age estimation through facial or voice recognition and government ID checks to ensure children no longer have access to the sites.
Around 1m children between the ages of 10 to 16 are supposed to lose access to social media. There are about 9m children under 10 in the country.
However, these technological barriers to entry aren’t fool-proof, with reports surfacing of children passing facial recognition tests.
Meanwhile, a government-authorised report earlier this year also found that age estimation technology has a “margin of error”, meaning children could be wrongly estimated to be older than they are. Other issues such as VPN usage, joint family accounts or fake accounts also persist.
In anticipation of the rule coming into effect, Meta – the owner of Instagram, Facebook and Threads – began removing Australian children under 16 from its platforms last week.
The tech giant was staunchly against the incoming ban, criticising the Australian government last year for rushing the legislation and failing to see already existing measures to protect children online.
On one side, supporters, including parents, praise the ban as a means to keep children safe, whereas many social media sites have until recently been against the move. Compliance is mandatory though, with sites not taking “reasonable steps” to block underage access facing possible fines of up to A$49.5m.
Although, the Elon Musk-owned X is yet to confirm if it will comply with the ban.
Children around the country are divided in their opinions about the move. But, they can still freely access child-specific platforms such as Messenger Kids, Google Classroom and YouTube Kids, as well as Meta’s WhatsApp.
The European Parliament is considering a similar EU-wide minimum age to access social media, video-sharing platforms and AI companions. This, while select social media sites in the region are already obligated to enact age verification measures under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Ireland has its own Online Safety Code to work in conjunction with the DSA, where it oversees age verification measures implemented by Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, Tumblr, Udemy, X and YouTube.
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