Overview
- Australia’s law, in effect since December 10, bars under‑16s from major platforms and requires companies to prove exclusion of minors, with penalties up to A$50 million for non‑compliance.
- Authorities report large‑scale takedowns, including about 440,000 Snapchat accounts affected and more than 200,000 TikTok accounts already deactivated, with further removals pending.
- The rollout remains uneven as underage users still access apps and bypass checks using VPNs, makeup or spoofed facial recognition, according to parents, teens and officials.
- Australian officials are preparing broader age‑verification measures for search engines, pornography sites, gaming services and some AI chatbots.
- In Germany, Thuringia’s Mario Voigt calls for no social media under 16 and no smartphones under 14, prompting resistance from SPD and Greens who favor tighter platform obligations, education and firm use of the EU Digital Services Act.