On December 10, 2025, Australia became the first nation to enforce a new Online Safety Amendment. The Online Safety Amendment established a ban on those under 16 from any social media platform. This new law encourages tech companies to create reasonable steps to block users under 16 from creating or maintaining accounts, or companies could face fines of up to tens of millions of dollars.
Since the Online Safety Amendment was passed, the Australian government hopes to protect those 16 and under from online dangers, establishing how social media verification will work. Discussions and uproar regarding the amendment heightened. Tools such as AI face detectors and uploading identity documents may be required for users to verify their age.
One of the main reasons for this act being implemented is to protect youth from the dangers that occur online. Social media exposes youth to harmful content containing unrealistic standards and cyberbullying. Damaging growing teens’ mental health by contributing to depression, low self-esteem, and anxiety. The government, restricting access, hopes to reduce risks and to build a better environment. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese states, “We want our kids to have a childhood and parents to know we have their backs.” Additionally, restricting access to social media can help enforce healthier habits and reduce the feeling of social media dependency.
As reported in CNN10, December 10 2025, Australian E Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, shares “ and there are these powerful, harmful, deceptive design features that even adults are powerless to fight against..” Emphasizing social media platforms contain tools to keep users engaged, which becomes damaging to children and teens who are still developing critical thinking skills and self-control. Users 16 and under tend to face an addiction to these platforms, losing half of their day just by “doom scrolling” and interacting with various platforms.
However, teens all over Australia feel targeted, and restricting the age on social media will not help them. Student interviewee from CNN10, Macy, feels “..we will lose connections, but we will lose our democracy.” On the other hand, CNN10 High school seniors interviewees, Nikolas and Ruby, share “..if we could, we would delete Snapchat today. But it’s more the fact that because there’s now so much reliability and connection based on one app, you don’t want to delete it.” Teenagers all share the same concerns, as they all speak on the fear of missing out. However, if everyone around them shares the same rules, there should be no concerns.
Teenagers in Australia face a new challenge, but banning social media for those under 16 does not fully resolve all the negatives found online. Dangers and addiction remain on platforms and require more than age restrictions to address.
