Australia’s upcoming social media ban for children under 16 years old will include the online forum Reddit and livestreaming platform Kick in addition to seven other well-known sites, according to the country’s online safety commissioner.
The social media ban will go into effect on December 10 and will also restrict access to Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X and YouTube, Communications Minister Anika Wells said on Wednesday.
“Online platforms use technology to target children with chilling control. We are merely asking that they use that same technology to keep children safe online,” Wells said.
“We have met with several of the social media platforms in the past month so that they understand there is no excuse for failure to implement this law,” Wells told reporters in Canberra.
“We want children to have a childhood, and we want parents to have peace of mind,” she said.
Social media platforms have had 12 months to prepare for the ban since Australia passed its landmark online safety legislation in November last year.
Initial discussions focused primarily around Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube, but the list was later expanded, and Wells said the list could continue to change.
While more than 140 Australian and international academics signed an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese last year opposing the age limit ban as a “blunt” instrument, Canberra’s move is being closely watched by countries that share concerns about the impacts of online platforms on children.
“Delaying children’s access to social media accounts gives them valuable time to learn and grow, free of the powerful, unseen forces of harmful and deceptive design features such as opaque algorithms and endless scroll,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.
Inman Grant said she would work with academics to evaluate the impact of the ban, including whether children sleep or interact more or become more physically active as a result of the restrictions on using social media.
“We’ll also look for unintended consequences, and we’ll be gathering evidence” so others can learn from Australia’s ban, Inman Grant said.
Critics have questioned how the restrictions will be enforced because users cannot be “compelled” to submit government IDs for an age check, according to a government fact sheet.
Discussions are under way with platforms about how to comply with the new rules, the commissioner said, while failure to comply could lead to civil fines of up to 49.5
