Australian children just lost access to social media
2 days ago
- #child-safety
- #digital-regulation
- #social-media-ban
- Australia implements a world-first ban on social media access for children under 16 to protect them from addictive algorithms, online predators, and digital bullies.
- The ban affects 10 major platforms including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube, which must use age verification to suspend under-16 accounts or face fines up to AU$49.5 million.
- Platforms are responding differently: Snapchat suspends accounts for three years, YouTube saves data for reactivation at 16, and TikTok deactivates accounts on December 10.
- Some platforms like Roblox are excluded from the ban but are introducing new age verification controls for chat functions.
- Age verification methods include live video selfies, email checks, and official documents, raising privacy concerns among adult users.
- Children are seeking alternatives like Yope and Lemon8, prompting warnings from the eSafety Commissioner about potential unregulated digital spaces.
- The government plans to measure the ban's impact on children's offline activities, mental health, and potential unintended consequences like migration to darker web areas.
- Stanford University will collaborate with Australian officials to study the ban's effects, with findings to be shared globally to inform other countries' policies.