Today's Edition
(BLOOMBERG)
Australia will soon ban its youth from popular services like TikTok and Instagram, becoming the world's first democracy to carry out such a crackdown in response to growing concerns about social media's harms. It's likely to be the first of many.
The platforms will be required by law to block under-16s from holding accounts from December 10, with companies that don't comply facing fines of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million).
The measures are spurring an increasing number of governments to seek to hold social media firms to account for toxic content and cyberbullying. Interviews with policymakers from Jakarta to Copenhagen and Brasilia show they're watching the rollout in Australia closely and planning moves of their own to protect young users, a crucial demographic for Big Tech.
“I was super envious when they announced it,” said Caroline Stage Olsen, Denmark's minister for digital affairs. “Fundamentally, it's a really important step.”
While figures on the number of under-16s on social media globally are scarce, research firm EMarketer says about one in ten US users are under 18. In some populous emerging markets like Brazil, under-18s make up nearly one in five.
User numbers, as well as time spent on platforms, are critical for social media companies because advertising accounts for the bulk of their sales. Curtailing teens' access could jeopardise a portion of the more than $245 billion EMarketer estimates the industry will make this year from over 4 billion users worldwide.
Australia's success as a trailblazer is far from assured, with technology experts cautioning that teenagers are likely to find ways to skirt the rules. But if forced to wait until they're older to join, some may end up bypassing the services altogether.
Meta Platforms Inc., which owns Facebook and Instagram, promised to comply with the new law but says there are better solutions for parents to have more control over kids' access, that the ban will be difficult to implement, and that it risks leading children to darker corners of the internet.
TikTok-owner ByteDance Ltd. has also said it will follow the law but argues that age bans are ineffective.
Meanwhile, both Snap Inc. and Google's YouTube have rejected their classification as social media platforms, though the former said it will comply with the new law.
Google and Elon Musk's X didn't respond to requests for comment on whether they would comply.
Firms also point to longstanding safety features on their platforms designed to protect young people. In a sign of how much attention platforms are dedicating to the issue, Snap co-founder Evan Spiegel met personally with Communications Minister Anika Wells in Australia in October, according to a person familiar with the meeting. Snap declined to comment on the meeting or what was discussed, while a spokesperson for Wells didn't reply to an email seeking the same details.
A successful rollout of restrictions, though, would likely bolster global momentum. Australia has been a leader in industry regulation before, with its move to require plain packaging for cigarettes in 2012 followed by dozens of countries, including France and Canada.
“There's a sense of urgency that governments need to figure out appropriate ways to regulate this technology,” said Michael Posner, director of New York University's Stern Center for Business and Human Rights, which has documented the spread of online safety regulations. “It's happening very quickly.”
Australia's clampdown began when the wife of Peter Malinauskas, the leader of South Australian state, read The Anxious Generation, a bestseller published last year by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt. The book, in which Haidt argues that children's excessive social media and smartphone use has caused an unprecedented mental health crisis, kick-started public discussions on protecting young people from technological ills.
Malinauskas proposed state age restrictions in September 2024, and a federal law passed just two months later - a pace he described as "warp-speed reform."
While a 2024 poll showed many Australians support the ban, some advocacy groups warn the rules may have unintended consequences, such as severing lifelines for marginalised youth or pushing them to more dangerous platforms.
In the US, social media companies have been challenged in some states, although the federal government has not passed significant regulation mandating more guardrails.
Meanwhile, some emerging markets - home to large, youthful user bases important for tech titans' growth - are beginning to wield legal clout.
From March, Brazil will require that children under 16 can only maintain social media accounts linked to legal guardians. Malaysia will start banning accounts for under-16s next year, according to Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
Indonesia has announced that those under 18 will need parental approval."We have learned a great deal from Australia," Meutya Hafid, Indonesia's communications and digital affairs minister, said in a November speech. Spain and New Zealand have also expressed interest in following Australia's example, while Singaporean policymakers have indicated they're open to minimum-age laws.
And in Denmark, recently agreed to ban access to social media for those under 15, aside from 13- and 14-year-olds with parental consent. While legislation is still pending, Stage Olsen, the digital affairs minister, said her ambition is for broader, EU-wide rules.
