Australia Becomes First Country To Ban Social Media For Kids Under 16

Australia has become the first country in the world to ban social media use for children under 16, blocking access to TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and other major platforms as of midnight Wednesday.

Ten platforms were ordered to comply or face fines of up to A$49.5 million, a move praised by parents and child-safety advocates but criticized by tech companies and free-speech groups.

In one of the world's most sweeping digital crackdowns, Australia is set to ban all social media access to users under 16 years old. Read more: https://t.co/Oih6CwYY1K pic.twitter.com/2UjYLmPboj

— South China Morning Post (@SCMPNews) December 9, 2025

The policy is attracting international attention as governments debate stricter age rules following evidence that social media harms young users’ mental health.

Officials say Australia’s rollout will serve as a real-time test of whether governments can force Big Tech to adopt stronger protections.

Australia will ban social media for under-16s from December 10 over mental health concerns, blocking TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. Some teens fear losing online safe spaces could cause more harm than good https://t.co/p8VHeToRDt pic.twitter.com/r3lCTnPARr

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 8, 2025

Most platforms say they will use age-estimation tools such as selfies, activity-based inference, or identity documents to enforce the ban.

Elon Musk’s X is the only platform not committing to compliance. With 86% of Australian children aged 8 to 15 on social media, the ban is expected to significantly reshape online habits and industry growth.

Also read:

Dutch Watchdog Says Facebook Enabled Gender Bias In Job Ads

The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights has ruled that Facebook’s job ad algorithm unlawfully discriminates based on gender, reinforcing stereotypes such as showing mechanic jobs to men and preschool teacher roles to women. The decision marks a major step toward holding Meta Platforms accountable for algorithmic bias, finding that

tippinsightsTIPP Staff

AI Experts Demand Global Pause On Superintelligence Development

A coalition of scientists, policymakers, and public figures is urging a global pause on developing artificial intelligence systems that could surpass human intelligence. The call, organized by the Future of Life Institute, has gathered over 800 signatures, including AI pioneers Yoshua Bengio and Geoffrey Hinton, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, and

tippinsightsTIPP Staff