Starting December 10, 2025, Meta, TikTok, and Snap will deactivate accounts of users under 16 in Australia, complying with the country’s new safety law.
Major social media companies, including Meta, TikTok, and Snap Inc., have confirmed they will comply with Australia’s new law banning users under 16 from accessing their platforms. The move marks one of the country’s most sweeping efforts yet to regulate how minors use the internet.
Under the Online Safety Amendment Act, which takes effect on December 10, 2025, social media companies will be required to block and deactivate accounts belonging to users below the age threshold. Platforms must take “reasonable steps” to verify user age and prevent minors from signing up.
Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — and ByteDance, which owns TikTok, said they would begin disabling underage accounts once the law comes into force. Snap Inc., the owner of Snapchat, also confirmed its compliance.
The companies, however, voiced skepticism over the policy’s effectiveness. They warned that restricting access to mainstream platforms could push underage users toward less-regulated corners of the internet, potentially exposing them to greater risks.
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The legislation carries fines of up to $32.5 million for companies that fail to comply. That risk has prompted major players to align with regulators, even as they question whether the rules can be effectively enforced.
One major holdout remains: Google. The company has argued that YouTube and YouTube Shorts are not “social media platforms” under the Act’s definition and therefore should not be subject to the same restrictions. Google’s public policy team in Australia has said the law would be “extremely difficult to enforce” and might not achieve its goal of keeping young users safe online.
“The solution to keeping kids safer online is not stopping them from being online,” said Rachel Lord, Google and YouTube’s senior manager of public policy, during a recent hearing before an Australian parliamentary committee.
Critics of the ban say teenagers will likely find ways around the restrictions, including through Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) or falsified age credentials. Still, supporters argue that the law represents a necessary step toward greater online accountability.
Australia has long been known for taking an assertive stance on digital regulation. From cracking down on misinformation to challenging the power of global tech giants, the government has positioned itself as one of the few willing to impose strict rules on Silicon Valley.
With the December deadline approaching, Meta, TikTok, and Snap are now preparing to alert Australian users about the forthcoming account removals — a major test of how far governments can go in reshaping the digital lives of children.
Africa Daily News, New York
