US EditionTikTok Will Block Under-16s in Australia to Comply with ‘Upsetting’ New Law
Australia imposes a social media age limit of 16 with fines up to A$50 million per breach amid concerns over youth mental health and cyberbullying.
- On Dec. 10 the law requires major platforms including Facebook and TikTok to block under‑16 accounts with no parental‑consent exceptions or face fines up to 50 million Australian dollars.
- The government says evidence links heavy social media use to anxiety, depression and body-image risks, while Emma Mason, lawyer and mother, urges a minimum age of 16 after her daughter Tilly's online abuse.
- Platforms must adopt mixed age‑assurance tools rather than only government IDs, with Meta using Yoti and YouTube tying age estimates to Google account signals during mass sign‑outs and verification.
- About 96% of Australia's teenagers under 16 already use social media, so many will lose access, with 15-year-old Elsie Ord set to spend seven months offline and young creators fearing lost sponsorships.
- Civil‑liberties groups and digital‑rights advocates warn enforcing a hard age line expands ID collection and surveillance, while John Riddick, NSW MP and president of the Digital Freedom Project, backs a High Court challenge.
15 Articles
15 Articles
TikTok will block under-16s in Australia to comply with ‘upsetting’ new law
TikTok said on Friday it will comply with Australia’s imminent ban on under-16s joining social media on the day it comes into force, but told users the changes “may be upsetting”. Australia’s world-first legislation comes into effect December 10, curbing the world’s most popular social media platforms and websites, including TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Companies face fines of A$49.5 million (US$32 million) if they fail to take “reasonable ste…
U.S. Talkmaster Oprah Winfrey praised the under-16-year-old social media ban in Australia as a great opportunity from next Wednesday. "I think you will change the lives of an entire generation of children that will lead a better life," said the 71-year-old at an event in Sydney on Thursday night. "There are so many young people who cannot communicate or talk properly, especially boys, because they become pornography addicted early on and don't k…
Strict rules for Instagram & Co.: Oprah Winfrey believes that Australia's new ban on under-16s could save an entire generation.
U.S. host Oprah Winfrey sees Australia as a pioneer for the rest of the world because of the ban on TikTok and Co. for young people under the age of 16. The country will "change the life of an entire generation".
Children and young people under the age of 16 are no longer allowed to benefit from social media in Australia. What can be said about this, and what are the consequences of the ban?
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