The Australian government is planning to curb social media addiction by cutting off young users. While the ban has not yet been enacted into law and is still lacking in key details — such as what ages and which platforms will be affected — the government’s first step is to trial age verification.
According to a survey, around 97% of Australian teenagers use social media on an average of four platforms, making them one of the most connected youth groups in the world. However, nearly two-thirds of Australian parents are concerned about their children's use of social media, according to a 2024 survey by ReachOut.
Youth activists have warned that the ban could disrupt vulnerable young people’s social connections and are instead calling on tech platforms to do a better job of ensuring safe interactions. “This is almost the opposite of what we recommend,” said Amelia Johns, associate professor of digital media at the University of Technology Sydney.
Ms Johns has been studying young people’s social media use during the COVID-19 lockdown. “People are living on social media,” she added. “For many young people, giving up social media is not an option, and I worry about the mental health consequences of a blanket ban.”
No country has yet implemented an age-based social media ban. France and the UK have tested age verification but have not implemented a ban, while some US states require age verification to access restricted content.
Australia's ban is expected to come into effect later this year. While no minimum age limit has been proposed, officials have suggested it would be between 14 and 16.
“If I lost my social media, I would feel a lot more isolated,” said Ben Kioko, a 14-year-old from Sydney who identifies as part of the LGBTQIA+ community and is on the autism spectrum. He added that this could exacerbate his mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been a strong supporter of the ban. “Parents want their kids off their phones and into the playground, and I do too,” he said in September. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, declined to comment but said it supports protecting young users from harmful content and unsafe interactions.
However, experts say that preventing teenagers from accessing social media through age verification will be difficult to succeed, because many young people know how to use tools such as virtual private networks (VPNs) to bypass control barriers.
