Australia implements first age-restricted social media ban

Australia is set to become the first country to implement a minimum age for social media use on Tuesday, Israel time, with platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube being forced by the government to block more than a million accounts, marking the beginning of an expected global wave of regulation.

Ten of the biggest platforms will be required to block Australians aged under 16 or be fined up to A$49.5 million ($33 million).

The law received harsh criticism from major technology companies and free speech advocates but was praised by parents and child advocates.

Governments from Denmark to Malaysia, and even some states in the US, say they plan similar steps. This comes four years after a leak of internal Meta documents showed the company knew its products contributed to body image problems and suicidal thoughts among teenagers while publicly denying the link existed.

"While Australia is the first to adopt such restrictions, it is unlikely to be the last," said Tama Leaver, a professor of internet studies at Curtin University.

"Governments around the world are watching how the power of Big Tech was successfully taken on. The social media ban in Australia ... is very much the canary in the coal mine."

A spokesperson for the British government said it was "closely monitoring Australia's approach to age restrictions." "When it comes to children's safety, nothing is off the table," they added.

Australia's eSafety Commissioner, a regulator tasked with enforcing the ban, hired Stanford University and 11 academics to analyze data on thousands of young Australians covered by the ban for at least two years.

Though the ban covers 10 platforms initially, including Alphabet's (GOOGL. O), YouTube, Meta's Instagram, and TikTok, the government has said the list will change as new products appear and young users switch to alternatives. Of the initial 10, all but Elon Musk's X have said they will comply using age inference.