Australia orders major social media platforms to block users under 16 from December

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has formally notified major social media platforms that they must comply with new minimum age restrictions from 10 December.

Under the new framework, platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube are classified as age-restricted’ services because their primary purpose is to enable social interaction. These companies must now take reasonable and technically robust steps to prevent underage users from creating or maintaining accounts. Services that fail to comply may face penalties of up to 49.5 million AUD.

eSafety identified nine platforms that fall under the current definition. The regulator emphasised that this list will change over time as digital services evolve, with new platforms assessed and added when appropriate. Several widely used services, including Discord, WhatsApp and Google Classroom, are not currently included, as they do not meet the same criteria.

Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the measure is designed to delay young children’s entry onto social media and reduce risks linked to features such as infinite scrolling, recommendation algorithms and exposure to inappropriate content. She added that age verification and age limits are only one part of a broader safety approach that includes digital literacy initiatives, prevention programs, and efforts to build online resilience among children and families.

The new requirements sit within a wider regulatory landscape in which governments globally are debating how best to safeguard children online without imposing excessive barriers to access or raising privacy concerns. Australia’s move is likely to contribute to ongoing international discussions on age assurance, platform accountability and youth-focused online safety standards.