Dozens Are Losing Access As Australia Begins Social Media Ban On Children & Teens

[RAMROD 117,061]

Australia has enacted a world-first ban on social media for users aged under 16, causing millions of children and teenagers to lose access to their accounts.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/dec/09/australia-under-16-social-media-ban-begins-apps-listed

[iAmToton 194]

Honestly, well done and I hope it starts a global change. 

[ActualPatient 2,512]

Dozens

[Debithius 6,056]

At least let them have youtube? I mean maybe they cant create an account but I assume they can still watch it?

Edited December 9, 2025 by Debithius

[JustAnotherGayASMR 422]

I think it's a smart move & more places should follow suit. Social media can be a very toxic place to be. Even more of a minefield now than it was when it first started. Trying to navigate politically charged content, rage bait, fake news, AI & sexually explicit media is hard enough as an adult, let alone someone who's still discovering themselves.

[PartySick 172,545]

I can't support this garbage tbh.

First - Facial scans? Providing your full ID to social media sites? Literally sacrificing privacy for the illusion of security. Any data leaks and you have a whole different battle on your hands.

Second - It's not the government's job to police children, it's the parents job to keep tabs on their kids. If you want your kid to be safe online, teach them how. Or have responsible guardians like teachers or counselors teach them if you don't feel confident that you can.

Third - All these laws are gonna do is drive kids to less safe, less regulated platforms. They said it right there. 

Bluesky, an X alternative, announced on Tuesday it would also ban under-16s, despite eSafety assessing the platform as “low risk” due to its small user base of 50,000 in Australia.

So there you go, kids! You and your friends just need to join smaller, more niche communities to keep in touch online. I'm sure that'll go great  

Here in Florida you have to provide all your personal info to a website just to watch p*rn. All that's done is drive people to shadier corners to get off rather than responsible platforms like p*rnhub that take care to secure and encrypt your info.

Laws like this are stupid from every angle.

[PlastiscGuy 22,491]

10 minutes ago, Debithius said:

At least let them have youtube? I mean maybe they cant create an account but I assume they can still watch it?

Kids aren't even safe with YouTube kids... 

[Guest]

I support the banning of social media for non-adults. IT does so much harm to children in so many ways. But verifying age via supplying your government issued ID to a third party is not something I will ever ever get behind.

[Morphine Prince 109,670]

14 minutes ago, PartySick said:

I can't support this garbage tbh.

First - Facial scans? Providing your full ID to social media sites? Literally sacrificing privacy for the illusion of security. Any data leaks and you have a whole different battle on your hands.

Second - It's not the government's job to police children, it's the parents job to keep tabs on their kids. If you want your kid to be safe online, teach them how. Or have responsible guardians like teachers or counselors teach them if you don't feel confident that you can.

Third - All these laws are gonna do is drive kids to less safe, less regulated platforms. They said it right there. 

Bluesky, an X alternative, announced on Tuesday it would also ban under-16s, despite eSafety assessing the platform as “low risk” due to its small user base of 50,000 in Australia.

So there you go, kids! You and your friends just need to join smaller, more niche communities to keep in touch online. I'm sure that'll go great  

Here in Florida you have to provide all your personal info to a website just to watch p*rn. All that's done is drive people to shadier corners to get off rather than responsible platforms like p*rnhub that take care to secure and encrypt your info.

Laws like this are stupid from every angle.

I’m torn because I agree with all of this BUT also think something has to be done about the damage these sites and overall device usage is doing to children. 

[Roughhouse Dandy 13,612]

Let this spread globally 📣📣📣

Everybody already has your information; giving out your ID means nothing anymore

[Taumaturg0 1,355]

33 minutes ago, Debithius said:

At least let them have youtube? I mean maybe they cant create an account but I assume they can still watch it?

youtube kids is a thing 

[Lucas 31,127]

Don't know how I feel about it. As a teen I'd be so pissed off but as an adult I see the harm that this can do to people, and the world, particularly now that social media is flooded with extreme right lies propaganda...

[Gorehound 5,769]

30 minutes ago, PartySick said:

I can't support this garbage tbh.

First - Facial scans? Providing your full ID to social media sites? Literally sacrificing privacy for the illusion of security. Any data leaks and you have a whole different battle on your hands.

Second - It's not the government's job to police children, it's the parents job to keep tabs on their kids. If you want your kid to be safe online, teach them how. Or have responsible guardians like teachers or counselors teach them if you don't feel confident that you can.

Third - All these laws are gonna do is drive kids to less safe, less regulated platforms. They said it right there. 

Bluesky, an X alternative, announced on Tuesday it would also ban under-16s, despite eSafety assessing the platform as “low risk” due to its small user base of 50,000 in Australia.

So there you go, kids! You and your friends just need to join smaller, more niche communities to keep in touch online. I'm sure that'll go great  

Here in Florida you have to provide all your personal info to a website just to watch p*rn. All that's done is drive people to shadier corners to get off rather than responsible platforms like p*rnhub that take care to secure and encrypt your info.

Laws like this are stupid from every angle.

This! This is exactly what we all feel about the recent online safety act in the UK.

[Bronco 25,129]

28 minutes ago, PartySick said:

Second - It's not the government's job to police children, it's the parents job to keep tabs on their kids. If you want your kid to be safe online, teach them how. Or have responsible guardians like teachers or counselors teach them if you don't feel confident that you can.

Yeah this only works if every person is digitally literate and actively keeping abrest of developments with technology. 

That's just not possible. I work in tech, I work with AI. The industry is going through such a rapid period of change that I've attended 5 conferences this year by the same company for the same product because of the rate of advancement. 

Social media sites are actively designing their features to be addictive. There is plenty of evidence from whistleblowers that CEOs like Zuckercunt are actively vetoing internal safety measures.

Its been 2 decades now of leaving this to the companies to police themselves and leaving it to parents to take responsibility. 

And we can see the results - intelligence and attention spans are being negatively impacted, children being exposed to ISIS beheadings, and a significant growth in crimes against children. 

The status quo hasn't worked and won't suddenly start working if we just stick it out for longer.

[PartySick 172,545]

34 minutes ago, Morphine Prince said:

I’m torn because I agree with all of this BUT also think something has to be done about the damage these sites and overall device usage is doing to children. 

There is something that can be done tbh. Tell parents to be parents  

Back in the day when kids were poking their eyes out playing stick ball the government didn't ban sticks, parents just told their kids to stop being stupid. That's literally the answer  

13 minutes ago, Bronco said:

Yeah this only works if every person is digitally literate and actively keeping abrest of developments with technology. 

That's just not possible. I work in tech, I work with AI. The industry is going through such a rapid period of change that I've attended 5 conferences this year by the same company for the same product because of the rate of advancement. 

Social media sites are actively designing their features to be addictive. There is plenty of evidence from whistleblowers that CEOs like Zuckercunt are actively vetoing internal safety measures.

Its been 2 decades now of leaving this to the companies to police themselves and leaving it to parents to take responsibility. 

And we can see the results - intelligence and attention spans are being negatively impacted, children being exposed to ISIS beheadings, and a significant growth in crimes against children. 

The status quo hasn't worked and won't suddenly start working if we just stick it out for longer.

So there should be an education campaign. Add digital safety courses to core education in schools, make it mandatory, and keep it well funded and updated as things evolve.

I just don't know how many times society can learn the same lesson over and over again. Prohibition has never worked, doesn't work now, and will never work.