Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban: What We Know, What We Don’t, and Where Leadership Fits

On 10 December 2025, Australia became the first country in the world to introduce a nationwide ban on social media accounts for anyone under 16. Depending on your perspective, this move is either a bold step in leadership or a troubling sign of something worse.

https://digitalrightswatch.org.au/2025/12/03/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-social-media-ban/

The truth is not simple, and this moment highlights the need for better civics, conversations, and leadership from adults.

1. What has actually changed?

Under the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, major platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, Threads, and Kick, must now take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 from creating or maintaining accounts.

A few key points:

It is not a crime for a young person to access social media. The law is aimed at platforms to remediate their processes, not children or parents.

Some services, such as Roblox, WhatsApp, Discord, and YouTube Kids, are initially excluded, but this list may change over time.

Platforms could face fines of up to $49.5 million AUD if they do not comply, and while reporting has been placed on companies to manage, this may become more strictly enforced over time.

Many teens have recently found their accounts locked, deleted, or archived. Some adults have discovered they were mistakenly flagged or registered as under 16 and now need to appeal.

2. Why did this happen?

The short answer is harm at scale.

In just one enforcement sweep, Meta removed over 635,000 accounts from Instagram and Facebook for behaviour linked to sexualising children, often from accounts managed by adults.

This sweep included 135,000 accounts posting sexualised comments or requesting explicit images from profiles of children under 13, as well as another 500,000 connected accounts.

In a single month, teens blocked more than 1 million accounts and reported another million after seeing safety warnings.

These numbers do not confirm that a blanket ban is the best solution. However, they highlight the extent of the issues governments are trying to tackle: grooming, exploitation, radicalisation, bullying, and ongoing pressure on youth mental health.

The legislation passed through Australia’s democratic process, including parliamentary debate, committee review, and public consultation, with input from the eSafety Commissioner and various industries.

It can be messy and imperfect, but it is not a sudden decision.

3. What are the downsides and unknowns?

There are still real concerns that need to be addressed, such as:

Connection and belonging: Many young people, especially those who are isolated or belong to minority communities, depend on social media for friendship and support. Sudden shutdowns of those channels can feel like social exile, some say, draconian.

Workarounds and risk migration: Some teens may switch to less regulated apps and private messaging services, which could expose them to even riskier environments.

Privacy and age verification: Age checks using AI, selfies, and behavioural data raise serious questions about privacy and surveillance, especially when the companies collecting that data are the ones being scrutinised and regulated. Furthermore, the public is spreading disinformation, incorrectly blaming the government for conducting age verification when it is the platforms that are required to complete it.

So yes, the effectiveness of this law is still uncertain. The government has recognised that the rollout will be complex, complicated, and imperfect from the start.

4. What does this mean for parents, educators, and young people?

Regardless of your personal opinion, the digital landscape has changed. Young Australians now need:

Civic literacy – an understanding of how this decision was made, who is responsible, and how laws can be challenged or improved.

Digital literacy – learning to recognise misinformation, manipulative content, and predatory behaviour on any platform, whether banned or not.

Voice and agency – having safe spaces to discuss how this affects them, rather than being spoken about by adults in the news and on social media.

Community leadership is crucial. Schools, councils, clubs, faith communities, and families all play a role in creating offline environments where young people feel seen, heard, and connected.

5. Where does The Odyssey Leadership Foundation fit?

At Odyssey, our mission is straightforward: help young Australians speak confidently and lead with integrity.

This new law does not change our mission; it supports it.

In our Find Your Voice talks, we help students build real-world confidence by standing up, speaking clearly, asking tough questions, and listening well.

These skills are just as critical offline as they are online.

In our Respectful Persuasion and civics-focused sessions, we explore how democratic decisions like this social media ban are made and how young people can engage constructively rather than feel powerless or misled.

Through our work with educators, we provide practical tools to help students navigate sudden policy changes without panic, shame, or bias.

We cannot leave child safety to algorithms, to Tech-company Leaders, or rely solely on legislation. All three play a role, and so do we.

If you are a school leader, teacher, parent group, or youth organisation facing this change and want to foster stronger, more confident young leaders in your community, Odyssey is here to partner with you.