Australia bans access to social media for under-16s
31 March 2025
Concerns over the impact of technology on the young generation prompted the Australian government to pass legislation in November 2024 banning access to social media for children under the age of 16.
In the UK, social media protections for children include restrictions on age. For example, Facebook users must be aged 13 or over. According to The Guardian, most social media platforms ‘tag’ accounts which they suspect are owned by children under 13 and implement child-safety features on them including message and content limits.
Professor of social psychology at the London School of Economics and specialist in children and social media, Sonia Livingstone says that the process of identifying such accounts and adding protections is unclear. Worryingly, adult users can still send ‘message requests’ to them.
She said, “There are some protections, but absolutely not enough and until the Online Safety Act (UK) and the Digital Services Act (EU) kick in, we’re a long way from getting those algorithmic protections people really want.”
Although social media has its practicalities, there is a plethora of harmful consequences for children who have unmonitored access to it, including cyberbullying, addiction, sleep disturbances, anxiety, exposure to harmful content and misinformation.
The charity Young Minds explores the subject in greater depth and offers support to children and teens who are struggling with the impact of social media on their mental health.
As it stands, the Technology Secretary has expressed as recently as January 2025 that a ban on social media for under-16’s is “not on the cards”. However, others within the UK government and tech-sector have expressed their support for a ban.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates commented on Australia’s ban, “There’s a good chance that that’s a smart thing”.
The UK’s Head of Counter-Terrorism Policing said that a ban “warrants serious attention”.
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said he is “broadly in favour” of a ban.
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