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Age restrictions on social media are usually account rules, not blanket internet bans. In Australia, since 10 December 2025, covered services must take reasonable steps to stop people under 16 from creating or keeping accounts. The duty is on platforms: Australian children and parents are not fined for underage access. Public posts that do not require an account can still be viewable, and some messaging, gaming, education and health services are outside the scheme.
Other countries are taking different approaches. The United Kingdom has announced a planned under-16 restriction, with regulations intended before Parliament by the end of 2026 and a proposed start in early 2027; that is not an operating UK ban yet. Families should therefore check the current rule for their country and the current list of covered services before making plans.
The direct answer for families
For an Australian under-16, the practical change is that an account on a covered social-media service may be prevented, suspended or removed. It does not automatically block the whole internet, every website, or every way to communicate. A service can be excluded because its primary purpose is messaging or online gaming, or because it falls into education or health-support categories set by government rules. However, a feature inside an age-restricted social-media account can still be affected, so the name of an app alone is not enough to predict access.
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- Australia: the minimum age is 16 for accounts on services that meet the legal conditions and are not excluded.
- Responsibility: platforms must take reasonable steps; children, parents and carers are not penalized for access.
- Access without an account: public content that does not require signing in may remain available.
- Coverage: the regulator can reassess services, so a list checked once can become out of date.
- Safety: turning 16 changes account eligibility, not every online risk.
How Australia’s rule works
The legal framework
The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 added Part 4A to the Online Safety Act 2021. The scheme began on 10 December 2025. It applies to an “age-restricted social media platform”, a legal category based on social interaction, user interaction and posting, with additional conditions set in rules. It is not a universal age of consent for the internet or a requirement that every online service use the same threshold.
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Which services are named
In an assessment dated 25 March 2026, the eSafety Commissioner named Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X, YouTube, Kick and Reddit among the covered services. The list can change as the regulator assesses services and their functions. Treat the list as a current regulatory reference, not as a permanent catalogue or a safety ranking. A service absent from the list is not automatically suitable for a child.
What “reasonable steps” means
The law directs the compliance obligation to the service provider. A company must use reasonable measures to prevent an Australian user under 16 from holding an account where the service is covered. eSafety says a court can impose a civil penalty on a corporation that fails to take those steps. Its current guidance gives a maximum of 300,000 penalty units, equivalent at that guidance’s 2026 value to AUD $109.2 million. That is a possible legal maximum, not a routine fine or an amount charged to a family.
What remains available
An under-16 may still be able to read a public page, watch public material or use another online service when no account is required. The result depends on the page and the platform’s design. Account-only posts, comments, direct messages, saved material and other logged-in functions can disappear even when some public content remains visible. Messaging or gaming services whose primary purpose fits an exclusion may operate outside this specific law, while messaging tools built into a covered social-media account may be restricted with that account.
Age assurance and the privacy question
It is not automatically a government-ID check
Age assurance means estimating or verifying a person’s age or age range. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) explains that a platform may use an in-house method, a third-party provider or different methods for different users and interactions. Consequently, the rule does not mean every Australian will be asked to upload a passport or driver’s licence. A particular platform decides which method it uses within its legal and privacy obligations.
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What information may be handled
Age-assurance systems can involve identity details, biometric signals, account information, device signals or an age-range result, depending on the method. OAIC guidance describes safeguards for information collected for this purpose: limits on reusing it for unrelated purposes, requirements to ringfence it and obligations to destroy it when the relevant need ends. The OAIC oversees the applicable privacy provisions. The exact data flow differs by service, so read the platform’s current age-check notice rather than assuming that one service’s process applies to all others.
A cautious response to an age prompt
- Open the check only from the service’s official app or website, not from an unexpected message or a shortened link.
- Read the platform’s explanation of the method, the provider involved and the purpose for collecting information.
- Check whether the request is for an age range or for an identity document, and whether an alternative method is offered.
- Save the platform’s support and privacy details before submitting anything, then ask the service how information is retained and deleted.
- If the request looks inconsistent with the service’s official help pages, stop and contact support through the normal account settings.
Preparing when an account may be unavailable
Preparation is more useful than trying to guess a single workaround. eSafety’s family guidance describes the restriction as “not a ban, it’s a delay to having accounts.” Use that delay to make a practical plan that does not depend on a particular app.
1. Map essential contacts
List the people a teen regularly needs to reach: family members, close friends, school contacts, coaches and health or support workers. Agree on another channel for each relationship, such as ordinary phone calls, text messaging, email or an approved service whose primary purpose is messaging. Confirm that younger users can legally and safely use the alternative, and obtain a trusted adult’s help where an organisation requires it.
2. Protect access to school and support
Check how assignments, notices, telehealth appointments, crisis support and community activities are delivered. Ask the school or provider for a direct website, email address or phone number rather than relying on a social-media page. Keep emergency contacts and key instructions somewhere accessible when an account is removed.
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3. Discuss what the teen values
eSafety’s March 2026 research found mixed experiences before implementation: some children described social media as supportive and calming, while others described pressure, comparison and difficulty disengaging. Ask what the teen gains from a service and what they fear losing. A conversation about belonging, creative work, news, entertainment or support is more productive than assuming every young person has the same relationship with social media.
4. Review account data and settings
Before an account becomes unavailable, download permitted photos, messages or contact information, review recovery email addresses and remove data the family no longer wants stored. Do not create a false age or move a child to another person’s account; that can create safety, privacy and account-recovery problems and does not change the legal duty on the platform.
5. Revisit the plan at 16 and beyond
At 16, an Australian teen may become eligible for an account on a covered service, subject to that service’s own terms. Eligibility does not remove scams, harassment, unwanted contact, manipulation, privacy loss or harmful content. Keep discussing reporting tools, blocking, private settings, location sharing, passwords, two-factor authentication and when to seek adult or professional help.
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What the evidence can and cannot show
Public support for age assurance is not the same as proof that restrictions improve wellbeing. Australian Government consumer research summarized on its minimum-age page reported that around nine in 10 adults supported age assurance and that 73% of children understood why websites checked age. Those figures describe attitudes and understanding, not the effectiveness of the account rule or a measured mental-health outcome.
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Similarly, the eSafety report published in March 2026 recorded views before implementation; it does not establish that the law caused, prevented or will cause a particular health result. Evaluation of implementation and impacts is ongoing. Families should use the rule as one safety measure alongside supervision, privacy controls, media literacy and access to help.
Australia and the United Kingdom are not using the same timetable
| Point | Australia | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Operative since 10 December 2025. | A government plan announced in July 2026; not an operative ban at that point. |
| Core proposal | Covered platforms must take reasonable steps to prevent Australian under-16s from holding accounts. | The government plans to prevent under-16 access to social-media services and require rigorous age checks. |
| Planned timing | Already in force, with service coverage subject to reassessment. | Regulations were intended before Parliament by the end of 2026, with a proposed start in early 2027. |
| Older teens | The established rule is the under-16 account restriction; no broader default for 16- and 17-year-olds is established here. | The announcement included default protections for 16- and 17-year-olds: overnight access restrictions from midnight to 6 a.m., muted overnight notifications, and autoplay and personalised feeds switched off by default. |
| Where to verify | eSafety Commissioner guidance and the Federal Register of Legislation. | The UK government’s consultation response and any regulations made afterwards. |
The UK consultation received more than 116,000 responses. That number describes participation, not support for one particular proposal. Liz Kendall, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, said the government intended to lay the first regulations before Parliament by the end of 2026 for effect in early 2027; families should check whether that timetable and the final wording changed.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Questions parents and teens commonly ask
Is Australia banning children from the internet?
No. The Australian measure concerns accounts on covered social-media platforms. Public material that does not require an account may remain accessible, and excluded categories of service can still operate. The exact boundary depends on the service, its purpose and its features.
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Will a parent be punished if a child gets in?
No penalty is set out for an under-16 user or their parent or carer for accessing a covered platform. The compliance duty and possible civil penalty apply to the platform company that fails to take reasonable steps.
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Does every Australian adult have to prove age?
No. Age assurance is used in connection with the platform’s obligations and can involve different methods. OAIC guidance does not say that every adult must present government identification to use social media.
Can a teen keep using direct messages?
It depends on the service and the account. A service whose primary purpose is messaging may fall within an exclusion, but messaging inside a covered social-media account can be affected when the account is unavailable. Check the current platform and government guidance.
Does exclusion mean a service is safe?
No. Exclusion from Australia’s minimum-age law only describes legal coverage for this scheme. It does not certify a service’s privacy, moderation, age suitability or design.
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Use the platform’s official appeal or support process, keep records of the notice and avoid sending identity documents through an unofficial channel. If the issue concerns personal-information handling, consult the OAIC’s current privacy guidance; for the operation of the minimum-age scheme, consult eSafety’s current material.
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