Social media bans for children by country

Under-16 social media ban, the first in the world, in force since 10 December 2025. In March 2026 the law was amended to put recommender algorithms and design features in scope. In September Parliament passed the Strengthening Enforcement bill, doubling the maximum fine for platforms to A$109.2 million and letting eSafety compel information from platforms, age-assurance providers and app stores. Five platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube) are under investigation. Reddit and the Digital Freedom Project have challenged the ban in the High Court, arguing it unconstitutionally burdens the implied freedom of political communication; hearings began on 3 November 2026. The ban stays in force while the case is heard, and nearly 5 million accounts have been blocked across ten platforms.

Digital ECA (Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente Digital) signed September 2025, in force 17 March 2026. Bans social media for under-14s and requires parental consent for 14–16s; accounts of under-16s must be linked to a parent or guardian.

Under-16 social media account ban enforced from 1 June 2026. Age verification via government ID (MyKad, passport, or MyDigital ID), with AI age-estimation as fallback. Applies to platforms with 8M+ users (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube); fines up to RM10M (~$2.5M). Existing users verified on a six-month rolling basis.

Age-gated approach: under-13s limited to children's platforms only; 13–15s restricted to lower-risk platforms; under-16s banned from high-risk platforms including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox. Accounts deactivated from 28 March 2026.

Gabon published an ordinance on 8 April 2026 setting the digital age of majority at 16. Under-16s are allowed accounts only with parental consent. The age verification process requires users to provide their name, address, and personal identification number — significantly more intrusive than what Australia, the EU, or the UK have introduced. First African country to legislate at this level.

The UAE Cabinet issued a binding resolution on 18 June 2026 setting the minimum age for social media at 15. Under-15s are barred from creating, using or operating personal accounts; 15- and 16-year-olds may use platforms only with enhanced protections applied to their accounts. Parental consent does not exempt a child, and self-declaration of age is disallowed in favour of digital-ID or biometric verification overseen by a Child Digital Safety Council. Platforms have up to 12 months to comply and are barred from serving children personalised ads. First Arab nation to legislate at this level.

Under-15 ban passed parliament on 22 April 2026, signed into law (Law No. 7578) on 30 April, and in force since 1 November 2026. Platforms may no longer open accounts for under-15s, and every new account must be age-checked through the state e-Devlet portal, which tells the platform only whether the user is over 15 and over 18. Existing accounts must be verified by 31 March 2027. 15- to 17-year-olds get restricted accounts: strict privacy settings, messaging limited to followers, and no tailored advertising. One-hour harmful-content takedown duty. Criticised by opposition and digital-rights groups as a speech-control measure.

Then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on 15 June 2026 that the UK will ban under-16s from social media, adopting the Australian model; Andy Burnham, who succeeded him in July, has backed the ban. It covers children born on or after 1 January 2009 and names Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X, and goes further than Australia with restrictions on livestreaming and stranger contact. On 15 July the government added default overnight curfews (midnight–6am) for 16- and 17-year-olds and the switching-off of features that keep them scrolling. The package also reaches AI chatbots: 'romantic companion' bots that simulate sexual relationships must enforce a minimum age of 18, with intimate functionalities restricted for under-18s more widely. Messaging apps (WhatsApp, Signal) and YouTube Kids are excluded. The legal power comes from the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026; regulations are expected before Christmas 2026, with the ban in force by spring 2027.

Parliament adopted the under-15 ban on 23 October 2026 after a two-day debate. The governing New Democracy passed it on its own majority; PASOK abstained, having argued for a ban at 13 with parental controls for 13- and 14-year-olds. It takes effect on 1 January 2027 and bars under-15s from social networking services, existing accounts included, and parental consent does not override it. Age is counted by birth year, so children born in 2013 or later are covered from 1 January. Platforms must check age rather than accept a typed date of birth: Greece's Kids Wallet and Gov.gr Wallet are offered, and other systems meeting EU standards are allowed. Penalties for platforms run through the EU Digital Services Act. The European Commission's 29 October freeze on national bans does not apply to Greece, whose EU review ended before the EU Kids Act was proposed.

France passed an under-15 social media ban on 21 July 2026 — the first EU country to do so — but on 14 August the Constitutional Council struck down its central provision, ruling a blanket ban disproportionate to freedom of expression and finding that verifying every user's age conflicted with the right to a private life. It did not enter into force as adopted. On 14 September the government sent the European Commission a reworked proposal that changes tack: rather than a blanket access ban, it targets around ten specific "addictive" features — autoplay, night-time notifications, unknown accounts contacting minors — while keeping age verification for all users. The narrower, feature-based design is meant to survive constitutional review.

Parliament approved legislation in February 2026. Details of age threshold and implementation timeline to be confirmed.

The Prime Minister announced an under-16 ban in February 2026, alongside plans to make platform executives criminally liable over hate speech. The bill on protecting minors in digital environments is in Congress, where the Justice Commission's working group resumed negotiating amendments on 29 September 2026 and will continue in the coming weeks. It still has to pass Congress and the Senate.

The KIDS Act (H.R. 7757) — bundling KOSA, COPPA 2.0, the SAFE Bots Act on AI chatbot safety and around a dozen other measures — passed the full House 267–117 on 29 June 2026. The Senate Commerce Committee advanced its version (KOSA) on 5 August, and it now awaits a full Senate floor vote; the House and Senate texts differ, and few legislative days remain before the November midterms. Separately, the updated COPPA Rule took effect 22 April 2026, requiring parental consent before children's data can train AI models.

By September 2026 at least 21 states had enacted laws on minors' social media access, addictive feeds or age-appropriate design, alongside roughly 78 AI-chatbot safety bills across 27 states (Oregon, Idaho and Tennessee among those signing chatbot laws). California signed AB 1709 on 10 September, barring under-16s from behaviourally addictive features (infinite scroll, algorithmic autoplay) from 1 January 2027; a separate bill in the same package (SB 867) bans toys with AI companion chatbots, and its device-level age-signal law (AB 1043) is due in 2027. Nebraska's under-18 consent law took effect 1 July.

Bill 25.336, from PUSC deputy María Marta Carballo, would bar under-14s from social media accounts except certified children's versions, and require age verification and parental authorisation for 14–17s. It also bans personalised advertising to minors and would put enforcement with the telecoms regulator, Sutel. The Assembly's youth and children's committee approved it in April 2026, sending it to the full chamber; no floor vote has been reported since.

The Safe Social Media Act (Bill C-34) was introduced in the House of Commons on 11 June 2026, banning under-16s from social media accounts. Unusually, platforms can seek an exemption if they prove they have implemented sufficient safety standards for children: a conditional ban rather than a blanket one. The bill also regulates AI chatbots by creating a new Digital Safety Commission. Penalties of 3% of global revenue or C$10M (~$7.2M), whichever is greater. Second-reading debate began in October 2026 and resumed on 29 October; the government's majority means it is expected to pass that stage and go to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, where the age threshold and age checks are the main points of argument.

A Shura Council amendment to the 2012 Child Law would add a "Digital Safety of the Child" chapter barring under-15s from creating social media accounts, with 15–18s allowed under privacy and safety controls and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority setting standards. The bill went before the upper chamber with a committee recommendation to proceed. The government has objected, however, warning that a blanket ban would be hard to enforce and could put children's data at risk — so its path is contested.

A government bill setting 16 as the minimum age to create and use a social network account passed its first reading in the National Council on 6 October 2026 and moves to second reading. The age limit sits inside a wider law on protection against radicalisation and would apply from 2027. Age checks are meant to tell a platform only whether a user is old enough, with no other personal data.

Both houses of Congress have now passed age-limit bills, with different ages. The Senate passed the Child Online Safety and Protection Act (SB 2424) on third reading on 8 October 2026, by 16 votes to 1: under-16s kept off age-restricted social media platforms, with age checks and child-safety measures for 16- and 17-year-olds. The House passed its bill (HB 11566) on 12 October, by 287 votes to 3: no accounts for under-13s, and parental consent for 13- to 17-year-olds. The two versions must be reconciled before the bill goes to the President. On 11 October President Marcos said his government is still studying whether a ban would work, and warned it could make children hide their use.

A cross-party Senate bill (DDL 1136) would raise the age for opening a social media account without parental consent from 14 to 15 and regulate child influencers. It has been before the Senate's 8th Commission since 2024. The commission put it back on its agenda on 8 April 2026 after a pause since the autumn, but in August the news agency ANSA reported it still stuck in committee, with age verification the sticking point. Other bills on the same subject are also pending.

Austria's government published a draft bill (Ministerialentwurf) on 11 August 2026, amending the Audiovisual Media Services Act to bar under-14s from video-sharing and social platforms targeted at Austrian users. Scope is defined by criteria (German-language service, a .at domain, a significant Austrian userbase or revenue) rather than a named platform list, and platforms must run an age-verification mechanism. Public review ended on 21 September. The draft was notified to the European Commission, and on 29 October the Commission extended its review to 12 months because the EU Kids Act covers the same ground. Austria cannot now adopt the ban before late July 2027, so the planned 1 January 2027 start no longer holds. Vienna says it will keep taking the bill through its own process. It has not yet been put to parliament.

Denmark's under-15 ban (parents may consent for 13- and 14-year-olds) has moved from political agreement to a draft bill, issued in early September 2026. The bill has not yet been put to the Folketing: that is expected in early 2027, with entry into force on 1 July 2027 and enforcement leaning on the national MitID electronic identity system.

The government plans an age limit for social media set at 1 January of the year a child turns 16, with platforms responsible for checking age. Prime Minister Støre announced the plan on 24 April 2026. A draft law went to EEA consultation on 8 May, and on 13 August the government said the European Commission and the EFTA Surveillance Authority had responded positively. No bill has yet been put to the Storting; the government says one will be by the end of 2026.

On 5 February 2026 the previous government approved starting points for a law restricting social media for under-15s, naming TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram. No bill has followed. On 17 September the education minister in the new government, Borut Rončević, said his ministry wants the first age limit set at 15.

The Online Safety (Minimum Age and Child Safety Risk Assessment) Bill was introduced by the government on 24 August 2026. It requires high-risk platforms — Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook — to take reasonable steps to verify users are over 16, following the Australian model, and also locks under-16s out of social AI companion platforms. A new online safety regulator within the Department of Internal Affairs could fine platforms up to NZ$40 million or 10% of global turnover. Coalition partners ACT and NZ First oppose it; Labour offered the votes for a first reading, but the government said there was not time. When Parliament was dissolved on 1 October the bill lapsed without a first reading. The Parliament elected on 7 November can reinstate it at the stage it had reached.

The government's expert commission on child and youth protection in the digital world reported on 24 June 2026 with 56 recommendations. Its preferred option is a statutory minimum age of 13 for independent social media use, with graduated protections for 13–16s and 16–18s; the alternative is to drop a single age limit in favour of EU-level, risk-based restrictions on specific services and features. On both, it warned against Germany going it alone. Family Minister Karin Prien has backed the age-13 option. No bill yet, and any national rule may face constitutional challenge.

Ruling party announced plans for age restrictions on 27 February 2026. No legislation introduced yet.

Prime Minister expressed support for restrictions in January 2026. No formal legislation announced.

In her State of the Union address on 16 September 2026, Commission President von der Leyen announced an EU-wide proposal, with the "EU Kids Act" formally presented on 17 September. The tiers: no social media under 13; no personal account under 15 (13- and 14-year-olds limited to parent-supervised "mini accounts" with no infinite scroll, push notifications or contact from unknown accounts, and a one-hour daily cap); and safety-by-design duties for 15–18s. It reverses the burden of proof, so platforms must show they are safe for minors, mandates age verification on all accounts, and extends safety-by-design to AI chatbots, video-sharing, online games and app stores. It now goes through co-decision with the Council and Parliament, which could take years. On 29 October the Commission said it will hold back overlapping national bans for 12 months while the Act is negotiated, by extending its review of national laws notified to it. Austria's under-14 ban is the first caught, and drafts from Poland and Belgium are also due to be held. Greece, France and Italy, whose reviews had already ended, are not affected.

The Flemish regional government announced a decree on 3 April 2026 introducing a legally binding minimum age of 13 for social media platforms deemed harmful to minors. Platforms including TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram will be required to implement age verification. Flanders' governing coalition rejected calls for a higher 15 or 16 age limit.

"Minor mode" technical framework limits children's access and screen time on domestic platforms. Not a social media ban — applies to Chinese apps only.

President Sheinbaum has called for a national debate on children's safety on social media, but we have found no government bill. A Morena deputy, Sergio Mayer, filed an initiative in the Chamber of Deputies in early 2026 setting a minimum age of 13 with verified parental authorisation; as of late July it had not advanced in committee.

On 28 September 2026 the Supreme Court directed the central government to examine statutory rules barring under-18s from independently creating social media accounts, citing that minors cannot enter binding contracts (so a child accepting a platform's terms is arguably void). A three-judge Bench, hearing a petition by the Just Rights for Children Alliance, stressed that advisory guidelines are not enough and pressed for statutory backing — pointing to the IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules 2021. The Solicitor General said the Centre would examine it, and the government is reported to be planning to amend the IT rules accordingly; the matter is listed again in four weeks. No binding order yet. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh had already announced state-level restrictions in March 2026.

The Ministry of Culture and Information has drafted a bill banning under-16s from creating accounts on social media and online platforms. Messaging apps are exempted. The draft has been through public consultation and a working group has been set up within the Ministry of Education. No date set for parliamentary introduction.

Japan is deliberately not following the Australian model. A communications ministry panel in June called a blanket age ban "undesirable", recommending stronger age verification, safer defaults and risk disclosure instead. On 30 July a second panel, at the Children and Families Agency, went further in its interim report: platforms should assess their risks to children, face possible penalties if their safety measures fall short, and verify age without relying on self-declaration — including via the My Number ID card. Its final report is due by the end of 2026, with law changes targeted for the 2027 Diet session.

Deputy Prime Minister Songsak Thongsri, chairing the Thai Health Promotion Foundation (ThaiHealth), said on 21 June 2026 the government is studying a law to bar under-16s from social media, citing near-universal internet use and high child screen time. ThaiHealth is working with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society on the framework. An earlier proposal floated an under-14 threshold with two-hour daily limits; the current study centres on 16. No bill yet.

ICT and Innovation Minister Paula Ingabire said on 29 April 2026 that government institutions are drafting a law to bar under-16s from social media, targeting platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. Enforcement would rely on internet providers, platforms and parents, with a national digital-ID system under consideration for age verification. Still at drafting stage.

ICT Minister Tatenda Mavetera announced in March 2026 that the government is formulating a Child Online Protection Policy to restrict under-18s from social media platforms including Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. The policy is at formulation stage with no bill yet drafted. Digital-rights advocates have criticised a blanket under-18 ban as overreaching, arguing existing data-protection law would be better enforced.

Education Minister P. Naranbayar is developing a draft law, inspired by Australia, to bar under-16s from "age-restricted" social networks. On 11 March 2026 he presented progress to Cabinet, which instructed the ministry to revise the bill and submit it to Parliament. A working group is studying verification and enforcement. Not yet formally introduced.

A draft decree from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (reported by Reuters in late July 2026) takes an unusual approach: rather than removing under-16s, it would let them keep accounts but strip the ability to post, comment or react. Accounts would be registered under a parent responsible for monitoring use, and platforms would have to identify child users and restrict them to age-appropriate content. Builds on 2024 rules requiring parental registration of minors' accounts.

A government-appointed commission recommended in early June 2026 that Sweden introduce a minimum age of 15 for social media. No bill yet; the recommendation feeds into government deliberations, and Sweden will also be bound by whatever EU-level rules emerge. Swedish 13-year-olds can already consent to data processing without parental approval under existing law.

On 16 September 2026 the cabinet approved an action plan to protect children on social media, including a minimum age of 15 to create or keep an account. A bill is due to go to the House of Representatives in December, after public consultation and an assessment by the children's rights commissioner. Age checks would run through the Digital Citizen app, which would tell platforms only whether a user is old enough.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis said in February 2026 he supports banning under-15s from social media, a position echoed by Deputy PM Karel Havlicek. No bill has been drafted; the Czech government has otherwise been publicly sceptical of EU-level mandates.

The new minority government revived the idea of social media age restrictions for under-15s in March 2026, reversing the previous government's parents-first stance. Enforcement would rely on privacy-friendly age verification. Early stage, with key details undefined.

The GERB party filed a bill in the National Assembly in July 2026 amending the Child Protection Act. It would bar under-16s from social media and video-sharing platforms, restrict 16- and 17-year-olds between 23:00 and 06:00, and fine platforms at least €50,000. We have found no committee or plenary step since. It is a party bill, not a government one.

Egypt's media and telecoms regulators announced a binding decision in mid-September 2026: platforms may not let under-13s create or activate their own accounts, and accounts for 13- and 14-year-olds must run in a safe mode that cannot be switched off. Platforms get 30 days to submit a plan and three months to comply, but the full text and start date have not been published. Separately, the chair of parliament's communications committee said on 4 October that a wider Digital Safety Law tops its agenda for the new session.

Nigeria's Ministry of Communications launched a nationwide public consultation in March 2026 on age restrictions, after a survey found strong public support. Officials are weighing stronger age-verification and platform-accountability rules; no bill yet.

A 2025 Senate bill to bar under-16s from social media was withdrawn after objections. On 16 January 2026 five senators raised the issue again through a calling-attention notice, and on 24 September the Senate's IT committee called for restrictions on under-16s. We have found no bill currently before parliament. The Islamabad High Court has separately ordered regulators to report on protecting minors online.