Local MP Kara Cook has welcomed early signs that Australia’s world-leading social media minimum age laws are having an immediate impact, with more than 4.7 million under-16 accounts already deactivated, removed or restricted within days of the reforms taking effect.
The new laws, which came into force on December 10, require age-restricted social media platforms to prevent children under 16 from holding accounts.
Preliminary analysis provided to the eSafety Commissioner shows platforms are making meaningful attempts to comply.
Ms Cook, the Member for Bonner, said the changes were already being felt by families on the ground.
“As a mum of three young kids who are below the age of the ban, I can tell you that the last five weeks of school holidays have been fantastic for me and my family to enjoy time together without social media,” she said.
“I am proud to be a part of a government that puts the safety of children above algorithms and the interests of social media companies.”
The early figures were supplied to eSafety as part of a first tranche of information, with the national online safety regulator continuing to closely monitor compliance across platforms.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the early data reinforced the importance of acting to protect children online.
“Our Government has acted to help keep kids safe online,” Mr Albanese said.
“It’s encouraging that social media companies are making meaningful effort to comply with laws and keep kids off their platforms.
“Change doesn’t happen overnight. But these early signs show it’s important we’ve acted to make this change.
“We want our kids to have a childhood and parents to know we have their backs.”
Minister for Communications Anika Wells described the scale of the early impact as significant, while cautioning that further scrutiny was still required.
“More than 4.7 million under-16 social media accounts being deactivated because of our world-first social media minimum age law is a huge achievement,” Ms Wells said.
“While it’s early, every account deactivated could mean one extra young person with more free time to build their community and identity offline.
“We know there’s more work to do and the eSafety Commissioner is looking closely at this data to determine what it shows in terms of individual platforms’ compliance.
“We’ve said from the beginning that we weren’t expecting perfection straight away – but early figures are showing this law is making a real, meaningful difference.”
Since the launch of the education campaign supporting the new age limits, the eSafety website has recorded more than one million visits, indicating strong public interest in understanding the changes.
Ms Cook said the reform was about restoring balance to childhood.
“This reform is about giving kids the space to be kids, and giving parents confidence that their children’s wellbeing comes before profits,” she said.
“Children deserve time to learn and play without being shaped by platforms designed to maximise engagement at any cost.”
Families and young people can access information, resources and advice about the social media minimum age laws through eSafety’s social media age restrictions hub.
