Australia Bans Social Media for Under-16s, Find Out Which Apps Are Hit and Which Escape the Ban

Australian children’s time on several social media apps came to an end on Wednesday morning, as a new law aimed at protecting children from harms of digital bullying or toxic online behavior is coming into effect.

The surprising move is under scrutiny from various organizations, and governments around the world are keeping a watchful eye over the move.

Several of the affected platforms, like Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, Kick, Reddit, Twitch, and X (formerly Twitter), are complying by using age verification methods to detect any underage users.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese while speaking to ABC on Sunday, said that “We’ve said very clearly that this won’t be perfect… but it’s the right thing to do for society to express its views, its judgment, about what is appropriate.” However, many of the affected companies say that the implemented restrictions will not make children safer online.

Which apps are banned, and who is saved for now?

Also Read: Australia’s Social Media Ban For Children Takes Effect, Becomes First Country To Implement It

The banned apps must show the steps they have taken to enable the restrictions implemented by the Australian Government; failure to do the required will result in fines up to 49.5 million Australian dollars.

Snapchat accounts held by under-16s will be suspended until the user turns 16. YouTube will have a similar plan of action to automatically sign out underage account holders on December 10; channels will be deactivated, but data will be preserved for reactivation once the user turns 16. However, Children will still be able to watch YouTube without logging in.

Similarly, TikTok, Twitch, and Meta (Instagram, Facebook, and Threads) will remove accounts belonging to under-16s. TikTok said that parents are encouraged to report cases where they believe their child falsified their age, and Meta asked its users to download their content, which would be available after they turn 16.

X (formerly Twitter) has strongly criticized the move, calling it a move against free speech. Reddit and Kick has followed the suit and decided to comply with the authorities.

The platforms that have escaped the crackdown (for now) are Discord, GitHub, Google Classroom, LEGO Play, Messenger, Pinterest, Roblox, Steam and Steam Chat, WhatsApp, and YouTube Kids.

It is to be noted that exclusion of Roblox from the ban has evoked sharp criticism from Australians following several reports of children being harassed on the game by online predators.