Australia: Meta and TikTok to Comply with Social Media Ban for Under-16s

Australia, a pioneer in internet regulation, has enacted a law prohibiting social media usage for individuals under 16 years old, effective December 10, 2024. While industry stakeholders express concerns about the practical implementation of this law, both Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram) and TikTok confirmed their compliance on Tuesday.

Ella Woods-Joyce, TikTok's head of internal policy, stated during an Australian Senate hearing, "In simple terms, TikTok will respect the law and fulfill its legislative obligations." Mia Garlick, the director of Meta’s internal policy, acknowledged that the company faces numerous challenges but aims to delete hundreds of thousands of accounts belonging to users under 16 by the deadline.

On paper, this legislation ranks among the strictest globally, with potential fines for violations reaching up to $32 million (27.5 million euros). Despite its requirements, Canberra does not mandate that social media platforms verify the age of all users.

The tech industry has united in criticizing the law, labeling it as vague, problematic, and rushed. Woods-Joyce warned, "Experts believe that a ban will push younger users into darker corners of the internet, where protections do not exist." YouTube, one of the world's most visited sites also affected, stated in October that while Canberra's efforts stem from good intentions, the legislation is poorly conceived. Rachel Lord, YouTube's spokesperson in Australia, remarked, "This law will not only be extremely difficult to enforce, but it also fails to deliver on its promise of making children safer online."

At the end of September, the national regulator urged 16 other platforms, including streaming giant Twitch, messaging service WhatsApp, and gaming sites Steam and Roblox, to present their arguments to avoid falling under the same restrictions.