Social Media Bans for Kids

Have you ever been stuck scrolling mindlessly on Instagram, Facebook, or Tiktok for hours? I know I have. It leaves me feeling anxious, disconnected, and wondering how I just wasted my entire evening watching Instagram videos of cats instead of connecting with friends, going outside, or doing anything to actually relax my nervous system. 

Nowadays, big social media companies like Meta (The parent company of Facebook and Instagram) and Tiktok are focusing on creating complex algorithms that will draw you in and keep you on their platforms. Remember, the more time we spend on their apps, the more money they make. Because of this, we end up with echo chambers and extremely customized content designed to captivate our attention and keep us scrolling.

As someone who had just entered high school as Instagram gained popularity, I was spared from these addictive algorithms until I was an adult. Instagram Reels (and their addictive algorithms) weren’t added to the platform until 2020, so my teen experience consisted of using Instagram for its original purpose, to see and share photos with friends. But now, as a young adult, I find myself being drawn in, struggling to break away from the fleeting hits of dopamine each cute cat video gives me. Thanks to these algorithms, it has become addictive, and I have even found myself opening the app on my phone reflexively without thinking. 

Nowadays, it seems as if social media has become an extension of our lives, especially for kids and teens who see it as their primary way of connecting with friends, learning new things, and keeping up to date with news and politics. As an adult with an understanding of how social media algorithms and echo chambers work, I am for the most part able to be discerning and think critically about what I see on social media. This is often not the case for kids and teens.

Yes, you can learn about politics on TikTok, but are you truly getting a balanced perspective, or is your algorithm creating an echo chamber enforcing one view point over and over again without showing you any outside perspectives? Let’s not forget about how easy it is to spread misinformation on these platforms, especially with developments in deepfake technology and generative AI. So while there is some value to be found from accessing these platforms, there is also the potential for great harm.

A study commissioned by the Australian government in 2025 found that 96% of kids ages 10 to 15 use social media, and that seven out of 10 kids have been exposed to harmful content. Additionally, more than half of the kids using social media reported being victims of cyberbullying.

Australia has decided to tackle the issue head on by banning kids under the age of 16 from having (or creating) an account on major social media platforms. The goal of the ban is to protect kids from harmful content, cyberbullying, online grooming, features designed to increase screentime usage, and addictive algorithms (among other things). As of December 10th, social media platforms are now responsible for deactivating as many under-16 accounts as possible and preventing underaged kids from accessing their platforms.

The ten platforms that have been banned so far are Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit and streaming platforms Kick and Twitch. The only caveat being that underage kids can still access YouTube and Tiktok, just without an account of their own. The Australian government also stated that they intend to continually review the list of banned platforms, so it is likely other platforms may be added to this list in the future.

According to the government of Australia, social media platforms have been assessed based on three main criteria:

1. Whether the platform's sole or "significant purpose" is to enable online social interaction between two or more users;
2. Whether it allows users to interact with some or all other users; and
3. Whether it allows users to post material

The ban is making social media companies take “reasonable steps” to keep kids off their platforms, with fines of up to $49.5 million AUD (CAD $45.06m) for serious or repeated breaches.  

So what do they mean by reasonable steps? Platforms can no longer rely on users self-certifying their age, but instead must implement methods such as verifying government IDs, face or voice recognition, or “age inference” technologies which look at a user's online behaviour and interactions to estimate their age. There are also strict regulations enforcing that this personal data must only be used for age verification and must be destroyed after use. 

While this ban is not without criticism, as some kids and teens will likely try to find workarounds such as using a VPN, it is still an important step in the right direction. Think about it this way, just because there is a law saying that people under the age of 19 can’t drink alcohol in BC doesn’t mean that there aren’t underage people who drink. This doesn’t mean that we should get rid of the law altogether though, since evidence tells us that underage drinking is harmful.

With Australia being the first country to officially ban social media for kids, the success (or failure) of this initiative is being watched closely by other countries around the world, with some following suit.

Denmark has already announced its plan to severely restrict social media access for youth under 15, which would be the biggest step made by a nation in the European Union to limit social media use among kids and teens so far. Denmark isn’t the only country taking inspiration from Australia’s precedent. France has started to consider an under-15 social media ban, as well as restricting what times teens aged 15 to 18 can access social media. Malaysia is planning to ban social media accounts for kids under 16 next year, and Norway is beginning to take steps to enforce social media restrictions for kids and teens as well. 

With multiple countries following in Australia’s footsteps already, the tech companies behind these major platforms are worried about the impact of these restrictions. 

YouTube said that the rushed implementation of these new laws could leave children less safe since they would still be able to access the platform without an account, claiming that by taking away their accounts, they will no longer be protected by the parental control and safety filters built to protect them. I have my doubts about the validity of this claim, since kids have always had the ability to access youtube without an account, and mature content is only accessible with an over-18 account. 

Meta claimed that the ban would leave kids and teens with “inconsistent protections across the many apps they use”. My question is, if they are so concerned with protecting kids, why haven’t they invested significant efforts into further enhancing their safety features, age verifications already?

The real worry here, above that of kids' safety, seems to be that many of these companies simply do not want to be the ones held responsible for this. Their concern is that it will cost them time, money, and resources that they do not want to expend on these restrictions.

Understandably, some Australian kids and teens are not thrilled about these new restrictions. They claim that it is unconstitutional and robs them of their right to free communication, and that other measures to improve online safety should be used instead to protect kids with safeguards, not silence. That being said, many kids also recognize that there are problems that come with social media usage, screen time, and even gaming.

Some experts also expressed that other measures such as digital and social media literacy programs, age-appropriate features on platforms, greater in-app restrictions, more parental controls, and age assurance technologies could all be more effective measures. Some mental health advocates also claim that the ban may cut kids off from connection or push kids to even less regulated areas of the internet.

Though opposed by tech companies and some Australian kids and teens, polls show that the ban is supported by most Australian adults. 

One of the biggest criticisms of the ban revolves around not including online gaming platforms, which parents and online safety researchers say can also cause significant harm.

Currently, gaming is not considered under the ban since its primary purpose is not social-media style interaction. But much like social media, gaming platforms pose risks to children. Exposure to harmful content, cyberbullying, grooming, and potential exposure to predators are all risks that come with playing online multiplayer games with built in chat features.

While online games are not currently included in the ban, there is no guarantee this will continue to be the case. Roblox has been under scrutiny for not putting measures in place to prevent kids from being exposed to explicit or harmful content. The Australian government has already stated that it will be keeping its eye on Roblox, signalling their consideration of expanding the ban to cover some online games. 

Roblox added a new age verification feature for Australian players just weeks before the ban kicked in, and are planning to roll out the feature worldwide in January. Once players have verified their age through a facial feature scan, they will be assigned to an age group and will be restricted to chatting only with other players in the same age group. The goal is to further enforce age-appropriate experiences for players, and was likely implemented due to pressure from Australia’s ban around the game’s chat functionality and messaging. 

This is a good example of how regulatory pressure like the Australian social media ban can be effective in pushing companies to invest in more child safety features. To avoid restrictions, game companies will likely begin investing in chat safety tools to prove that they are taking reasonable measures to ensure chat safety. At the rate things are going, game companies might be next if they don’t step up by investing in player safety.

At the end of the day, the number one thing you can do as a parent to keep your kids and family safe is investing in cyber education. 

Our Trustee Shield course teaches  kids how to protect themselves against the most important threat on social media. To register for our courses, check out our course page here:  https://kidsshield.ca/services/shields

Be Educated. Be Connected. Be Safe.