Social media ban to ensure Australian children have a childhood: PM Albanese

Canberra: Australia’s world-first social media ban for under-16s will ensure that children have a childhood, according to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Albanese on Tuesday wrote to the leaders of Australia’s states and territories to thank them for their support on the social media ban, which comes into effect on Wednesday, acknowledging that the reform will require some adjustment in the short term.

“This is the cultural change Australia needs to deliver greater peace of mind for parents and ensure Australian children have a childhood,” he wrote.

Under laws that passed the federal parliament in November 2024, certain social media platforms must take “reasonable steps” to prevent children under 16 from having accounts.

The government says it will reduce the negative impact of social media’s “design features that encourage young people to spend more time on screens, while also serving up content that can harm their health and wellbeing”.

A study it commissioned earlier in 2025 found that 96 per cent of children aged 10-15 used social media, and that seven out of 10 of them had been exposed to harmful content. This included misogynistic and violent material as well as content promoting eating disorders and suicide.

So far 10 social media platforms have been instructed to enforce the ban — Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X, YouTube, Kick and Reddit. Authorities may update the list as needed.

In a video message that will be played to students in schools around Australia, Albanese said that the government has made the change to support children who have grown up with algorithms, endless social media feeds and the pressure they bring, Xinhua news agency reported.

Neither children nor their parents will be punished for breaching the ban under the laws, with the onus for enforcing it placed entirely on social media platforms.

Platforms that commit serious or repeated breaches will face fines worth up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (about $32.8 million), though the government has accepted it will take some time for age assurance technology to identify all underage accounts.

IANS