Australia’s social media ban for teens, how it’s going

It’s been a month since Australia banned under-16s from social media platforms, and some teens are glad to be free of the distraction, while others have found ways to bypass the law.

The Online Safety Amendment Act requires major social media platforms like Meta’s Instagram, ByteDance’s TikTok, Alphabet’s YouTube, Elon Musk’s X, and Reddit to implement age verification methods such as facial estimation through selfies, uploaded ID documents, or linked bank details.

Tech companies — not parents and teens — face repercussions for any breaches. This includes a fine of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars ($32 million) if they fail to take “reasonable steps” to comply.

Australia’s government argued it would protect teens from the addictive algorithm design that hooks people and mental health harms attributed to social media, such as reduced sleep and increased stress.

Opponents of the ban argued it would be ineffective.

Here are the top three takeaways on how the ban is going, a month in.

Some teens are embracing new habits, while others are trying to circumvent the law.

Amy, 14, kept a diary since the ban started and told the BBC in a recent report that she feels “free” without the pressure of maintaining a presence on Snapchat — one of the affected platforms.

“I often used to call my friends on Snapchat after school, but because I am no longer able to, I went for a run,” Amy wrote in her diary.

The BBC reported that downloads of some apps that were not affected, such as ByteDance-owned Lemon8, Yope, and Discord, surged in the days after the law was implemented.

Downloads of VPNs, which hide users’ locations to bypass country-specific restrictions, increased before the ban. Downloads have now fallen back to normal and social media platforms are expected to detect VPNs as part of the law.

However, the Australian government caught on. Lemon8 has since complied with age restriction requirements after self-assessing that it should be included in the ban, according to The West Australian. The Australian government also asked Yope to self-assess whether it should do so.

While the tech firms are complying, they’re urging the Australian government to reconsider.

Meta said in January that it blocked over 500,000 under-16 accounts in Australia, but added that age verification needs to extend to the app store. It said that teens use over 40 apps a week, including many are not under the scope of the ban, arguing this means they can still be exposed to harmful content.

The tech giant previously warned that the ban would cut off teens from friends and community.

Reddit, another banned platform, has taken it further and launched a legal challenge against the Australian government, saying the ban is inefficient and curtails young people’s freedom of speech.

Reddit previously said in a statement to CNBC that the law could isolate teens “from the ability to engage in age-appropriate community experiences (including political discussions).”

“The political views of children inform the electoral choices of many current electors, including their parents and their teachers, as well as others interested in the views of those soon to reach the age of maturity,” Reddit added.

Australia was the first country to implement such a sweeping social media ban for under-16s as concerns about the negative impacts of platforms have escalated. Now, others might follow suit.

There’s particular interest among U.K. politicians. Prime Minister Keir Starmer told MPs on Monday that he’s alarmed at childrens’ screen time and called for an Australian-style ban.

There’s also interest in the U.S. In a Fox News poll of over 1,000 registered voters, 64% of respondents favored a social media ban for teens and banning cellphones from K-12 classrooms. Two-thirds of parents also were in favour of the ban, with 36% were opposed.