Australia’s “world-leading” social media ban is now in effect — but D-Day wasn’t without wasn’t without hitches.
Lauded by the federal government, world politicians and even Oprah, children aged under 16 woke up on Wednesday morning to find they had been locked out of their accounts — a year after legislation passed parliament with bipartisan support.
But perhaps not all of them.
There were reports that under-16s could still register for accounts on several of the 10 platforms required to comply with the restrictions.
And some teenagers, purporting to have circumvented the ban, mocked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as he took to TikTok to spruik it.
“Didn’t work bud,” one user commented.
One individual expressed their determination by saying, “Just wait until we’re able to vote,” highlighting the growing frustration among those affected by the recent policy changes.
While many might feel frustrated, the federal government insists the changes — which have experts divided — will be difficult but ultimately for the best.
And while some teenagers might be celebrating their way around the ban — it also insists that, while there have been challenges in the rollout, they will eventually be locked out.
The inaugural day of the ban unfolded with a mix of reactions and creative attempts to bypass the restrictions. Some have resorted to using makeup and other tactics to deceive the age verification algorithm, showcasing the lengths to which people are willing to go.
Service providers are now mandated to implement reasonable measures to prevent children from accessing their platforms, with the threat of facing substantial fines of up to $49.5 million per violation if they fail to comply.
On what Albanese said was a “proud day” to be prime minister, the ban — which has captured global attention — made headlines across the world. It was covered in the New York Times, the BBC, and carried in news bulletins from India to Italy.
Instead of their feeds or ‘for you’ pages, many affected teenagers found themselves locked out of some of their favourite apps and unable to create new accounts — for the most part.
Guardian Australia reported three apps still allowed 14-year-olds to register accounts, although two had indicated they were in the process of implementing the new restrictions.
The ten platforms, including Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, have all said they will comply with the ban, which requires them to block anyone under 16 from holding an account, after X announced on Wednesday that it would too.
One teenager said he’d been kicked off platforms owned by Meta — which include Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp — but still had access to Snapchat.
Adding to the ongoing tension, the government has issued a cautionary note that the list of banned applications is not static. It remains flexible and might be expanded to include additional apps in the future.
Albanese, Communications Minister Anika Wells, and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant all conceded that, while the ban would not be perfect in its early stages and there would be “teething issues”, it would change lives as they went on a media blitz from Wednesday morning to the early afternoon.
“Make no mistake — this reform will change lives,” Albanese said in Sydney while at an event marking the ban.
“For Australian kids, and allowing them to just have their childhood. For Australian parents, enabling them to have greater peace of mind. But also for the global community, who are looking at Australia, and saying: ‘well, if Australia can do it, why can’t we?’.”
More than 200,000 TikTok accounts had been deactivated, according to Wells, who said that while some may have circumvented the ban today, it did “not mean they can avoid it in a week’s time or a month’s time”.
“Because these social media platforms have to go back and routinely check under-16s’ accounts,” Wells told reporters.
Tech companies are expected to use a range of methods to verify a user’s age, including face scans with artificial intelligence, sophisticated analysis of people’s posting patterns and language, and digital IDs.
This significant development took center stage during a prominent weekday afternoon broadcast by CNN in the United States and was a focal point of coverage across various news platforms worldwide.
Some platforms, such as YouTube, will still be accessible without an account, but it will be harder for algorithms to target content to children.
The government says the onus is on social media companies, not parents, to enforce the ban.
Little-known social media apps Lemon8, Yope and Coverstar remain accessible and have shot to the top of Apple’s App Store charts.
But the government has warned that the list of banned apps is dynamic and could expand to include others in the future.
Global attention
Other governments have said they are planning similar steps to Australia.
Malaysia is among them, where the Asian nation’s media outlets, including Focus Malaysia and the Malay Mail, referenced their government’s own next steps.
The ban was leading a popular weekday afternoon program by United States broadcaster CNN, while being extensively covered by news sites.
USA Today wrote: “Australia is the first nation to ban social media for kids. Is the US next?”
The BBC had live blog posts of the ban, with affected Australian children sending in their experiences and thoughts on the new rules.
Al Jazeera noted both parents and advocates rejoicing over the ban, while pointing to the looming High Court challenge the government’s laws are facing.
Singaporean daily The Straits Times considered whether Australia might set the precedent for other nations.
In Europe, French outlets France 24 and Le Monde covered the rules, while Germany’s Deutsche Welle also reacted.
In the United Kingdom, John Nash — a Conservative Party minister from 2013 to 2017 — wrote in The Times of London newspaper that Australia was “making a brave stand”.
He said Britain risked “being left behind”, with the European Parliament and a number of European countries, including Spain, Italy and France, are considering similar measures.
The European Commission is developing a regional age-verification app with five member states to allow users to verify their age without handing personal data directly to platforms. Though critics have pointed out the policies wouldn’t be binding like Australia’s.
Rahm Emanuel, ex-chief of staff to former US president Barack Obama, said the US should follow Australia’s lead on a similar social media ban.
“I think it’s time for America to pick up its game and do the same. I think we need to help parents,” he said in a video on Wednesday morning.
“Our kids are way too vulnerable. It’s too addictive, too alluring.”
American television star Oprah Winfrey has also hailed the ban while touring Australia. During her first show in Sydney on Thursday, she said: “I think you’re going to change the lives of an entire generation of kids who are going to have better lives.”
There has also been opposition in the US, most notably from the technology sector, where industry groups representing Meta, Netflix, Disney, Alphabet (Google’s parent company) and others have lodged formal complaints with the US Trade Representative.
— With reporting by the Australian Associated Press.
