Social media
In effectThe world's first national under-16 social-media ban. Since Dec 10, 2025, platforms (YouTube, TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitch, Threads and others) must take reasonable steps to keep under-16s off, so users verify age by facial-age estimation or ID. Enforced by the eSafety Commissioner with fines up to 49.5 million AUD. Enforcement has forced the removal of roughly 4.7 million accounts, and the rollout continues in stages: from June 27, 2026 search engines including Google and Bing must apply age-assurance checks to logged-in Australian users, and strict age verification for pornography began March 9, 2026. Results are mixed -- surveys four months in suggested about one in five teens still reached TikTok and Snapchat using VPNs, borrowed credentials and workarounds, and regulators concede the rules change defaults rather than form an impenetrable barrier. Australia has become the global template: Malaysia explicitly cited it when barring under-16s from June 1, 2026. Enforcement, Dec 2025-Jul 2026: the ban took effect December 10, 2025 with ten platforms under monthly reporting. Platforms removed over 5 million under-16 accounts, but compliance cracked immediately: eSafety found platforms letting children retry age checks until they passed, and a University of Newcastle study found more than 85 percent of under-16s still using social media three months in, many via VPNs or by fooling selfie age-estimation with tricks as simple as a drawn-on moustache. On March 31, 2026 the regulator opened formal investigations into Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube and declared an enforcement stance. In late June the government moved to double the maximum penalty from A$49.5 million to A$99 million and to give eSafety power to compel documents from platforms, age-assurance vendors, and app stores. Reddit is challenging the law in the High Court. The world's test case is now testing whether the law can work at all. A second constitutional challenge, by the Digital Freedom Project on behalf of two 15-year-olds on the implied freedom of political communication, was filed in the High Court on 26 Nov 2025; no hearing date or ruling has been found. The Digital Freedom Project challenge is High Court matter S163/2025; in Dec 2025 the Chief Justice ordered it and Reddit's challenge to proceed together. No hearing date as of late Aug 2026.
- Nov 28, 2024Online Safety Amendment passes Parliament
- Dec 10, 2025In effect
- Dec 10, 2025Under-16 social-media ban takes effect
- Mar 9, 2026Age checks extended to adult sites and search
- Mar 9, 2026Age verification for pornography takes effect
- Jun 27, 2026Search engines must age-check logged-in users
Source: esafety.gov.au