Age restrictions: Australia's social-media law set to be a case study

The platforms are upset. The ban impacts a large chunk of their user base, and young people are among the most engaged users

Last week, Australia approved the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill, 2024, to prevent children under 16 from using social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Tik-Tok, and Snapchat. Australian lawmakers were triggered into passing this measure by the recent suicides of two 12-year-olds who had been bullied online. This is the first such legislation in a liberal democracy, though many platforms voluntarily prevent children under 13 from accessing their platforms and ask for parental permission before signing up underage users. The Bill imposes fines of $32 million if a platform fails to prevent access by under-16 users and