Australia has banned social media for minors under 16 and will require everyone to identify themselves with official documentation.
Anthony Albanese's communist government has banned social media for minors and will require all users to identify themselves with official documentation
Australia implemented one of the world's most absurd digital safety laws on Wednesday, banning minors under 16 from having accounts on social networks such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X, YouTube, Snapchat, Reddit, Threads, Twitch, and Kick.
The measure, part of the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act passed in 2024, requires platforms to delete existing accounts belonging to minors, prevent new sign-ups, and apply age verification using technologies such as official identification, facial recognition, or age inference systems. Companies that fail to comply will face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars.
The socialist government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese defended the regulation, arguing that “it will reduce young people's exposure to harmful content” and mitigate the impact of algorithms that encourage compulsive use.
Albanese defendió la medida utilizando argumentos vacíos
According to a 2025 state study, 96% of minors between 10 and 15 years old use social networks, and seven out of ten have seen material “violent, misogynistic, or related to suicide and eating disorders.” In addition, one in seven reported grooming experiences, and more than half are believed to have suffered cyberbullying.
Despite official arguments, the law has caused harsh criticism from technology, digital safety, and privacy experts. One of the main concerns is the limited scope of the measure.
Platforms such as Discord or Roblox, widely used by minors and where security risks have also been reported, were left out of the ban because the government did not classify them as social networks. For many analysts, this exclusion creates a significant protection gap.
Discord es una de las pocas plataformas que no fue prohibida a menores de 16 años
Meanwhile, digital rights organizations warn about the risks arising from the mass collection of data for age verification. Australia has suffered multiple security breaches in recent years, and specialists believe that the requirement to present government documents or biometric data increases the risk surface.
Even the government's own technical report acknowledges that facial verification is less accurate in teenagers, which could lead to erroneous blocks of legitimate users without guaranteeing the detection of minors.
Technology companies have also expressed concern. YouTube described the regulation as “rushed,” noting that it could leave children less protected if they access without an account, thus avoiding parental controls.
Meta warned that the measure will result in “inconsistent protections” across applications, while Reddit said the law undermines essential rights to privacy and freedom of expression. Industry executives also questioned the effectiveness of the fines, stating that for giants like Meta, the amounts represent just a couple of hours' worth of revenue.
Las empresas tecnológicas y de redes sociales han lanzado feroces críticas contra esta delirante medida
Critics argue that the ban could be easily circumvented through VPNs, fake profiles, or accounts shared with adults. According to specialists, this migration toward evasive practices could push minors into less safe environments with less supervision, rather than protecting them.
They also warn about the risk of shifting the conversation toward technological surveillance, instead of addressing more structural problems such as the lack of digital literacy among parents and children.
As Australia becomes the first country to impose such a broad ban, the experiment is being closely watched by other nations and by critics who fear that a policy intended to protect minors will end up undermining their privacy and pushing them toward more dangerous corners of the digital ecosystem.
Uno de los aspectos más controversiales de la ley es la exigencia de presentar identificación personal o datos biométricos por parte de todos los usuarios
