X agrees to comply as Australia enforces social media ban for under-16s

Australia became the first country to ban social media access for children under 16, blocking platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. Under the new law, ten major platforms were instructed to restrict access or face penalties of up to A$49.5 million ($33 million).

The move has drawn criticism from major tech companies and free-speech groups, but has been welcomed by many parents and child-safety advocates.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it "a proud day" for families, framing the law as evidence that policymakers can finally curb online harms that have outpaced traditional safeguards. Albanese said at a Wednesday news conference that "This will make an enormous difference. It is one of the biggest social and cultural changes that our nation has faced," adding, "It's a profound reform which will continue to reverberate around the world."

In a video message, he encouraged children to "start a new sport, new instrument, or read that book that has been sitting there for some time on your shelf," ahead of Australia's summer school break later this month. 

Elon Musk's X was the last of the ten major platforms to implement measures cutting off access for underage teens, after publicly acknowledging on Wednesday that it would comply."It's not our choice - it's what the Australian law requires," X said on its website.
"X automatically offboards anyone who does not meet our age requirements."

The rollout marks the culmination of a year-long debate over whether any country could realistically prevent children from using platforms embedded in everyday life, and launches a real-time test for governments worldwide frustrated by the slow pace of harm-reduction efforts from social media companies.

Albanese's centre-left government introduced the law citing research linking excessive social media use among young teens to mental health harms, including misinformation, bullying and negative body-image content.

Several countries, from Denmark to New Zealand to Malaysia, have indicated they may study or adopt Australia's approach, positioning the country as a test case for how far governments can push age-gating without hindering speech or innovation.

Australia has said the initial list of covered platforms will evolve as new products emerge and young users shift to different services.

Companies have told Canberra that they plan to use a mix of age inference- estimating a user’s age based on behaviour and age estimation using a selfie, along with checks that may include uploaded identification documents or linked bank account details.