On December 10, 2025, Australia became the first country to ban social media for children under 16. These major social media platforms include TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, and others. This unprecedented law has drawn international attention and sparked similar conversations in other countries.
Australia’s new policy states that all social media platforms must ban underage users from accessing their platforms. If platforms fail to do so, they will face fines totaling millions of dollars. Supporters of this new law say it is meant to protect children from online harassment and help them reach their full academic and social potential. Instead, Australia’s adolescents are encouraged to read more, try new sports, and take up new hobbies. In other words, Australia is encouraging kids to be kids. Since this law has been implemented, hundreds of thousands of underage users have been removed from social media platforms.
Following Australia’s lead, many countries subsequently introduced new rules restricting social media use for children under a certain age. France, for example, has recently announced that children under 15 are not allowed to access social media platforms. The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, has stated that this new law is meant to limit adolescents’ screen time and protect younger users’ mental, emotional, and physical health. Moreover, other countries that have begun taking similar actions include the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, and Egypt. The United Kingdom’s government launched a consultation to gather the perspectives of parents, young people, and non-governmental organizations and to receive further feedback on the potential new law’s effectiveness.
Proponents believe the law establishes a much-needed barrier to youth access to social media, while opponents argue that implementing restrictions is too difficult because it would require extensive daily monitoring by both the government and private businesses, including social media companies. Others believe that it will restrict youth’s freedom of expression and speech, ultimately causing teenagers to find other covert or illegal ways to access social media. Major social media platforms have shown support for age-restriction laws but concede that such measures are not a panacea for the overall health of younger users. Now, with even more countries debating social media age restrictions, it is evident that Australia’s new law has sparked a controversial global discussion, unique to the 21st-century society.
Sources:
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“France passes bill to ban social media use for children under 15 – The Times of India.” Times of India, 27 January 2026, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/europe/france-passes-bill-to-ban-social-media-use-for-children-under-15/articleshow/127660639.cms. Accessed 3 February 2026.
Kaye, Byron, and Renju Jose. “Australia begins enforcing world-first teen social media ban.” Reuters, 10 December 2025, https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/australia-social-media-ban-takes-effect-world-first-2025-12-09/. Accessed 3 February 2026.
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