BANS for under 16s on social media platforms come in from December 10, with the Federal Government’s minimum age laws now including Reddit and Kick.
The bans also apply to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, X and Threads.
From December 10, these platforms must take reasonable steps to prevent under-16s from holding accounts on their services.
Age-restricted social media platforms will face fines of up to $49.5 million for failing to prevent underage account holders.
Informed by advice from the eSafety Commissioner, the Online Safety (Age-Restricted Social Media Platforms) Rules 2025 specifies which types of online services will not be captured by the social media legislation, including online gaming such as Roblox, messaging apps such as Messenger and WhatsApp, and health and education services.
Federal Member for Bonner Kara Cook said schools in the region would play an important role in information sharing and working with students and parents.
“I want parents to know that the Government has their backs – not social media platforms,” she said.
“As a parent, I am aware of the harms of content through social media platforms, and the concerns families and kids have.
“We want kids to know who they are before social media platforms assume who they are.”
She said there was no doubt that social media had negatively impacted Australian kids.
“They are designed to keep people on platforms and can lead to social isolation, sleep interference, poor mental and physical health and exposure to inappropriate and harmful content,” she said.
“There is a place for technology to support kids in our community to learn, but not a place for predatory algorithms to harm them.”
Federal Member for Bowman Henry Pike said he supported the need for greater protection for children on social media platforms.
“Protecting children must always come first, which is why the Coalition led and supported the social media ban for children under 16 years old,” Mr Pike said.
However, he questioned how the Government’s social media laws would actually work in practice.
“Throughout this process there has been confusion around what services are being covered and there is still no clarity on what age verification will look like or how it will be implemented.”
