The Government Has Passed the Law to Ban Social Media for Under 16’s

And we asked teenagers what they think about it

During Parliament’s final sitting week of the year, the government have passed a law to ban social media for people under the age of 16.

The law passed as it had the support of both the government and the Coalition. Australia is the first country to ban children under 16 from using social media.

If you’re a student around this age or want to know more about this ban, here’s what to know and what other teens have said.

What to know about the ban.

Under this ban it will be illegal for people under 16 to access certain social media platforms.

Snapchat, Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, X and Facebook must not allow people under 16 from creating an account. It looks like gaming and messaging platforms like Messenger and WhatsApp won’t be banned but the government hasn’t provided any confirmation on this yet.

Similarly, the ABC reported YouTube won’t be banned but the government hasn’t explicitly confirmed this yet. This is most likely because users don’t need an account to watch videos.

Social media platforms who don’t keep under 16’s off this platform could be subject to fines of up to $50 million.

The gov is trialing “age assurance” technology to find the best way to verify ages.

The ban will only go into effect in November 2025.

What’s everyone saying about the ban?

Late Thursday night the bill passed the Senate with 34 votes for the ban, and 19 votes against.

Both Labor and the Coalition supported the ban while the crossbench voted against alongside two Coalition Senators.

As reported by the AAP, a spokesperson for Meta said they were concerned “about the process which rushed the legislation through while failing to properly consider the evidence.”

“The task now turns to ensuring there is productive consultation on all rules associated with the bill to ensure a technically feasible outcome that does not place an onerous burden on parents and teens and a commitment that rules will be consistently applied across all social apps used by teens,” they said.

Milly Bannister, the Founder of Gen Z mental health charity ALLKND has called for education rather than a blanket restriction.

“This is not a sweeping win for young people,” she said.

“This is a ‘peace of mind’ band-aid for parents.

“We cannot replicate the Gen X childhood. We live with the internet and we grow up online, therefore, we need education not prohibition.”

How teenagers feel about the ban.

Everyone and their uncle have had a lot to say about the social media ban – which is great.

However, we wanted to find out from students what they thought.

15-year-old Lucas Lane, is the Founder of Glossy Boys and has built his business using social media. His business takes nail polish to another level with his gel nail polish pens in an assortment of different colours and has even seen his business gain investment from three sharks on Shark Tank.

He said this shouldn’t be a decision the government makes for others.

“It’s ultimately the parents' decision how to teach their child, it’s not the government,” he said.

“I think social media is a great way for young people to connect, because look at all the stuff that I’ve been able to do with social media.

“If I didn’t have it, then how would I have created a business, gone and done all this cool stuff, made all these friends and made this community.”

While she won’t be affected by the ban, Year 12 student and 17-year-old entrepreneur Anisha told Student Edge she’s worried the ban will hinder future student entrepreneurs like her.

Alongside her studies, Anisha is a Lead Facilitator at the Australian School of Entrepreneurship. Even though she is above the 16-year-old threshold, as someone under 18 she’s already having issues interacting with social media posts in an appropriate way.

“Restricting [social media] for the minority who don’t use it appropriately, or impacted by it because of other people who are using it inappropriately, is restricting me and other people who are using it in the right way,” she told us.

“And again, there are so many loopholes…social media isn’t the only example of that happening.”