Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Australia’s Under‑16 Social Media Ban Starts Wednesday as Platforms Race to Comply

Companies face penalties for failing to take reasonable steps to deactivate underage accounts on the ten designated services.

Overview

  • Reddit said it will comply from December 10 while calling the law “legally erroneous,” and will use an age‑prediction model to suspend users deemed under 16.
  • Regulators named Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, X, Reddit, Threads, Twitch and Kick, with exemptions for services like Discord, WhatsApp, Roblox and Pinterest that remain under review.
  • Platforms are rolling out layered age checks including facial or voice analysis, activity and location signals, account history and ID‑based methods, with Meta already notifying and removing identified under‑16 accounts.
  • Two 15‑year‑olds backed by the Digital Freedom Project have taken a High Court challenge forward, as New South Wales and South Australia’s attorneys‑general join to defend the law.
  • Polling shows roughly two‑thirds of voters support the restrictions, but fewer than a third of parents plan to delete apps, and officials acknowledge likely workarounds such as VPN use and fake or AI‑altered IDs.