Australia has introduced a landmark law making it the first country in the world to legally ban anyone under 16 from using social media. Beginning at midnight, major platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat were required to log out underage users or face fines as high as A$49.5 million (US$33 million).
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the ban as one of the most significant social reforms of the digital era, saying the move would have a major impact on families and children’s wellbeing.
The new law immediately triggered a massive purge of underage accounts. TikTok reported that 200,000 accounts were shut down within hours, with more removals expected throughout the week. Many Australian teenagers spent their final hours online posting goodbye messages, using hashtags like #seeyouwhenim16 before their accounts were disabled.
X (formerly Twitter) was the last major platform to comply, stating that it was forced by law to remove underage users and was now automatically deactivating accounts that fail age-verification checks.
All ten affected companies must now implement strict age-verification measures, including facial-image checks, behavioural data analysis, or ID uploads. Critics say these requirements verge on government surveillance, while the Australian government argues tech companies ignored long-standing safety concerns.
Officials maintain that the ban is necessary to protect young users from mental-health risks and online harm. Tech industry groups, however, warn that the policy is an excessive expansion of state control over digital life.
