AUSTRALIA banned under-16s from social media in a world-first crackdown on Wednesday, declaring it was time to “take back control” from formidable tech giants.
A raft of popular apps and websites — Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and X among them — face US$33 million fines if they fail to purge Australia-based users younger than 16.
Australia becomes one of the first nations to push back so forcefully against tech companies with immense political power, in a move other countries are looking at closely.
“Enough is enough,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
“It is one of the biggest social and cultural changes that our nation has faced.
The government says unprecedented measures are needed to protect children from “predatory algorithms” filling phone screens with bullying, sex, and violence.
The laws came into effect after midnight local time across Australia.
Hundreds of thousands of adolescents woke up to find themselves locked out of apps they once scrolled through for hours each day.
Bianca Navarro, 10, was already counting the years until she could log in again to YouTube.
“It will be pretty sad because I have six years until I can watch it,” she told AFP.
Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, and Reddit are forbidden from creating or keeping accounts belonging to users under 16 in Australia.
Streaming platforms Kick and Twitch are also on the government’s blacklist, as are Threads and X.
The ban has been hailed as a godsend for parents sick of seeing children stuck to their phones.
Mia Bannister blamed social media for the suicide of her teenage son, Ollie, who killed himself last year after he was bullied online.
He was also being served endless dieting videos that fuelled an eating disorder, she said.
“I’m sick of the social media giants shirking responsibility,” she told AFP in the lead-up to the ban.
“The problem is we hand them a phone, and we hand them the greatest weapon we could hand them.”
A growing body of research suggests that too much time online is taking a toll on teen well-being.
But it is hard to draw firm conclusions that separate phone use from other lifestyle factors, experts say.
Father-of-five Dany Elachi said the restrictions were a long-overdue “line in the sand”.
“We need to err on the side of caution before putting anything addictive in the hands of children,” he told AFP.
While most platforms have begrudgingly agreed to comply, for now, legal challenges are in the wind.
Online discussion site Reddit said Tuesday it could not confirm local media reports that said it would seek to overturn the ban in Australia’s High Court.
An Australian internet rights group has launched its own bid to have teenagers reinstated to social media.
Popular apps and websites such as Roblox, Pinterest, and WhatsApp are currently exempt — but the government has stressed that the list remains under review.
Most social media platforms already require users to be at least 13, a legacy of US laws setting the minimum age for data collection without parental consent.