Social media platforms have disabled, deleted or restricted more than 4. 7 million accounts since Australia banned under-16s ...

Kids in Australia will no longer be able to have accounts on social media apps like Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat as Australia’s under-16 social media ban kicks in Wednesday. The new law, which was ...

Starting Dec. 10, Australia is the first country to ban social media for kids under 16. Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote about the move in an opinion essay posted Dec. 7, saying the ban ...

The new legislation — passed Thursday, Nov. 28 — gives platforms including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok a year to begin enforcing the age limit Bailey Richards is a writer-reporter at PEOPLE. She ...

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese explained the legislation during a news conference on Thursday, Nov. 7 Brenton Blanchet is an Associate Editor on PEOPLE's TV team. He has been working at ...

Roughly two decades after social media started growing in popularity, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory in 2023 ...

Australia has become the first nation to legally restrict access to major social media platforms for users under the age of 16, a groundbreaking move that could set a global precedent. The legislation ...

MELBOURNE, Australia — Australia’s House of Representatives has passed a bill that would ban children younger than 16 years old from social media, leaving it to the Senate to finalize the world-first ...

Age assurance, an umbrella term that refers to technologies for verifying, estimating, or inferring an internet user’s age, is being thrust into the global spotlight thanks to a blanket ban on social ...

Australia’s prime minister claims the ban will give parents peace of mind — but critics argue it will make the internet less safe for kids. Australia’s prime minister claims the ban will give parents ...

The national ban is the first of its kind in the world. Australia’s social media ban for children 16 and under officially went into effect at midnight local time on Dec. 10. Many child advocates and ...

A 13-year-old boy displays a message on his mobile phone from social media platform Snapchat after his account was locked for age verification in Sydney on December 9, 2025. A 13-year-old boy displays ...