What You Need To Know About Australia Bans Children Under 16 Years Of Playing Social Media December 16

JAKARTA - Australia is scheduled to issue a policy prohibiting children under 16 from using social media platforms such as Facebook and TikTok from December 10, 2025.

This policy will be the first in the world, including the spotlight for the public to worry about the dangers of social media.

Internet regulators around the world are observing whether Australia can control the social media platform technology giant but questions remain ahead of the ban on December 10.

Citing AFP, here are Australian measures to prohibit children under the age of 16 from packaging social media:

Age Limit

Starting December 10, some of the world's largest social media platforms will be forced to remove all users under the age of 16 in Australia.

Hundreds of thousands of teenagers are expected to be affected, with Instagram reporting around 350,000 Australian users aged 13 to 15 years.

Not all Australians should prove their age, only those suspected of violating the ban.

And young users can still access some social media without logging in they just can't sign up for their own accounts.

Verification

The social media platform will be responsible for filtering underage accounts.

A number of trials have reviewed various ways to do it, but the Australian government has so far refused to establish a universally agreed method.

Meta, Facebook's parent company, began disabling accounts based on information such as the age given when the account was created.

Account holders who are tagged can accidentally verify their age using a " selfie video" or by providing an identity card issued by the government, Meta said.

What Are The Platforms?

Which platform is included in the ban is still being debated.

Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok are covered, as are streaming platforms including Kick and Twitch.

YouTube added, although the government suggested that YouTube be excluded so that children could watch online lessons.

Other popular apps and websites such as Roblox, Pinterest, and WhatsApp are currently excluded but the list is still under review.

Potential Child Violators

Australia estimates that the potential for teenagers or children under 16 will remain stubborn when the social media ban policy is implemented. They will use a number of ways to circumvent the law.

Guidelines in this policy will warn those who are under the rules not to violate so they don't try to upload fake ID cards or use AI to make their photos look older.

Platforms are also expected to design their own way of stopping this from happening.

Heavy Sanctions

Australia predicts the ban is far from perfect at first, and some underage users will be neglected. However, that problem will still be resolved.

However, Australia is warning platforms with a threat of a fine of 32 million US dollars if they fail to take "proper steps" to comply.

It remains unclear how Australian internet security regulators will interpret or enforce what is considered reasonable.

"' Reasonable measures' means the platform should act to enforce restrictions in a fair and precise manner in certain situations," the regulator's guidelines read.