Australia this week became the first country to enforce a national ban on under-16 social media use. The law went into effect on Monday, November 10, 2025, and in the coming days platforms will ping over a million teen accounts to comply.
Global giants—including TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and Threads—are poised to deactivate any profiles registered by users under 16. The remaining 20 million social media users—about four-fifths of the population—are expected to see minimal disruption.
Three compliance choices
Teens flagged for removal will receive three options:
- Download a copy of their data
- Freeze their profile until they turn 16
- Delete the account permanently
Instead of invasive age checks, companies are leveraging existing age-estimation algorithms—originally developed for marketing—to guess users’ ages from engagement patterns like “likes.” Only when teens dispute their status will new age assurance apps verify birth dates, a process still prone to occasional errors that could block older teens or let younger ones slip through.
Why it matters
Australia’s pioneering ban underscores the tension between protecting youth and preserving digital freedoms. For business leaders and tech innovators, the rollout offers data-driven insights into scalable age-check systems. Meanwhile, thought leaders and changemakers are eyeing the broader impact on platform governance. As other nations weigh similar measures, the world is watching how this balance unfolds.
Reference(s):
Tech companies start to comply with Australia's teen social media ban
cgtn.com
