Australia’s social media ban for children under 16 just got broader – and the government says the list could keep growing.
What’s happening: Australia announced on 5 November that it’s adding Reddit and Kick to its social media ban for children under 16, expanding beyond the original seven platforms, Al Jazeera reported. The ban now covers nine platforms total and takes effect on 10 December 2025.
Why this matters to all parents: Australia’s approach to restricting children’s social media access is being closely watched by governments worldwide. Several US states are drafting similar legislation, and other countries are considering whether to follow Australia’s lead. How Australia implements this ban – including which platforms get added and how enforcement works – could influence policies affecting families globally.
The bigger picture: Australia passed the world’s first social media ban for children in November 2024, but the details are still being finalised. The addition of Reddit and Kick, with Communications Minister Anika Wells saying “the list could continue to change,” shows that governments are still determining how comprehensive these restrictions should be.
Here’s what platforms are now covered, how Australia plans to enforce the ban, and what this expansion means for the global conversation about children and social media.
What Parents Need to Know
Australia’s social media ban for children under 16 now includes nine platforms: TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, Threads, and the livestreaming platform Kick.
The ban takes effect on 10 December 2025 – giving social media platforms exactly one year from when Australia passed the legislation in November 2024 to prepare for implementation.
Why the list expanded: Initial discussions focused on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X, and YouTube. Reddit and Kick were added after further consideration, and Communications Minister Anika Wells confirmed the list could continue changing, according to Al Jazeera. The government hasn’t explained what criteria determine which platforms get included.
What happens if platforms don’t comply: Social media companies face fines up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (US$32.1 million) for systemic failures to prevent children under 16 from holding accounts. Wells told reporters in Canberra that the government has “met with several of the social media platforms in the past month so that they understand there is no excuse for failure to implement this law.”
The enforcement question remains: Critics have questioned how the ban will work in practice. According to a government fact sheet, users cannot be “compelled” to submit government IDs for age checks, which raises questions about how platforms will verify users’ ages. Discussions are ongoing between the government and platforms about compliance methods.
What Australia’s eSafety Commissioner says: Julie Inman Grant said the ban “gives [children] valuable time to learn and grow, free of the powerful, unseen forces of harmful and deceptive design features such as opaque algorithms and endless scroll,” Al Jazeera reported.
Inman Grant said she would work with academics to evaluate the ban’s impact, including whether children sleep more, interact more in person, or become more physically active. “We’ll also look for unintended consequences, and we’ll be gathering evidence” so other countries can learn from Australia’s experience.
Academic opposition: More than 140 Australian and international academics signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese opposing the age limit ban as a “blunt” instrument, CNN reported. Despite this opposition, the government proceeded with implementation.
What Other Parents Are Doing
Australia’s ban has sparked global interest, with some parents supporting age restrictions and others questioning whether bans address underlying platform design issues.
Government perspective: Communications Minister Anika Wells framed the ban around parental concerns: “We want children to have a childhood, and we want parents to have peace of mind.” She added that “online platforms use technology to target children with chilling control. We are merely asking that they use that same technology to keep children safe online.”
Countries watching closely: Australia’s approach is being monitored by governments worldwide that share concerns about social media’s impact on children. Denmark announced its own ban (for under-15s) on 7 November, citing Australia’s example. Several US states are drafting legislation inspired by Australia’s approach.
Platform responses unclear: The affected social media companies have had a year to prepare but haven’t publicly detailed how they’ll implement age verification without requiring government IDs. This remains the central implementation challenge.
The TikTok investigation: Alongside Australia’s announcement, French authorities opened an investigation into TikTok over concerns its algorithms might push young people towards suicide. Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said the probe would examine “insufficient moderation of TikTok, its ease of access by minors and its sophisticated algorithm, which could push vulnerable individuals towards suicide by quickly trapping them in a loop of dedicated content,” Al Jazeera reported.
TikTok has called these accusations a “deceptive presentation” and said it’s being made a “scapegoat” for broader societal issues.
How This Affects Your Family
Even if you don’t live in Australia, this ban’s implementation could influence policies and parental decisions worldwide.
If you’re outside Australia: The expansion of Australia’s banned platform list shows that governments implementing these restrictions face ongoing decisions about scope. If your country or state considers similar legislation, expect debates about which platforms should be included and whether the list should be comprehensive or limited.
For parents of children under 16: Australia’s ban raises questions relevant to all parents: If major platforms weren’t accessible to your child until 16, how would that change your family’s approach to technology? Would it reduce conflict about access, or create new challenges around enforcement and workarounds?
The Reddit and Kick additions: Reddit is primarily a text-based forum platform, whilst Kick focuses on livestreaming. Their inclusion alongside video-heavy platforms like TikTok and YouTube suggests Australia is casting a wide net – targeting social interaction features rather than specific content types.
If you’re making decisions about which platforms to allow, consider what Australia’s government views as problematic across these varied platforms.
Enforcement reality: The inability to require government IDs means any ban will likely rely on platforms’ existing age verification methods – which children have historically found ways around. If Australia’s ban influences policies where you live, expect implementation challenges regardless of the law’s intent.
For conversations with children: Australia’s ban affects children who already have accounts on these platforms. If your child asks about the ban, it provides an opportunity to discuss why governments are concerned about social media’s design features – what Australia’s eSafety Commissioner called “opaque algorithms and endless scroll.”
The academic opposition: The fact that over 140 academics oppose the ban as a “blunt instrument” suggests that even experts who study children and technology disagree about whether age restrictions are the right approach. This divided expert opinion reflects the complexity of these decisions for individual families as well.
Source: Aljazeera
Related Articles:
- Denmark announces social media ban for under-15s following Australia’s example
- Social media age verification: The enforcement challenge no government has solved
- What research shows about social media algorithm effects on children
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