Limiting Social Media to Ages 16+

There's been a lot of conversation recently about online safety, especially with the upcoming changes to how young people can use social media in Australia.

From 10 December 2025, social media platforms will need to take responsable steps to deactivate accounts belonging to kids under 16 and prevent new ones from being created.

As information about the changes continues to unfold, you can stay informed and confident by downloading our Beacon Cyber Safety app. It provides up-to-date guidance and practical tips to help families navigate the online world safely.

The Beacon Cyber Safety app will keep you across the latest updates as this new law comes into effect.

These changes are part of a national effort to give kids more time to grow their digital skills, emotional resilience, and understanding of online risks before stepping fully into the world of social media.

As of 5 November 2025, it is eSafety's view that Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat ,Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Kick and Reddit are age-restricted platforms. This list will continue to be updated prior to 10 December. Find the latest details about which platforms are age-restricted.

Children under 16 can still use YouTube Kids and view regular YouTube without a login account. Viewing it without a login account limits the platform's functionality and may reduce exposure to age-inappropriate content.

Age restrictions are not intended to apply to most gaming or messaging services and will not apply to email, video calling, health and education technologies, or professional networking apps.

A ‘social media platform’ is defined as one which focuses on enabling social connection and allows users to post and interact.

No. Children, parents, carers and teachers will not face legal penalties.

The responsibility lies with social media platforms to enforce age limits. If they are found to have failed to take ‘reasonable steps’ to do this, they may face substantial fines.

So far, it is unclear what will happen to children’s existing posts or chats when accounts are deactivated.

However, the eSafety Commissioner has flagged (in the last section titled “Conclusion: Placing the flags in the sand”) that parents may wish to help children download their archives and profile content now.

At present, there are few details available about how the age limit will be enforced. The Government acknowledges that some children may bypass the limit and that not every child’s account will disappear immediately. However, they maintain that the age restriction will provide a new layer of intervention and will signal what the community considers acceptable.

At present, we don’t know what tools will be used to identify children aged under 16.

It is possible tools may check birthdates from documentation, estimate age from appearance or behaviour, infer age from other information (e.g. how long an account has been held for), or use parental controls.

An independent trial run by the Age Check Certification Scheme found that effective technical solutions to age assurance do exist and are viable, although none are foolproof. eSafety will provide guidance to platforms on suitable approaches. How social media platforms will choose to respond to all this remains to be seen.

While age limits may help child safety, concerns exist about how age assurance technologies might handle personal data.

Privacy risks might be reduced by a ‘tokenised, double-blind’ approach, where a digital token confirms the user's age without revealing their personal details to the social media platform. We wait to see whether this will be implemented.

The Government has confirmed that platforms may only request official ID documents from users if they also offer a reasonable alternative approach, and that personal data collected for age assurance must not be used beyond what is permitted by the Australian Privacy Principles.

These assurances are positive, but rigorous regulation and enforcement will be key.

• Make sure children understand accurately what’s happening.
• Reassure children that if anything bad happens on social media, they should seek help. They will not have ‘broken the law’ by using social media.
• If children are worried, help them identify what they’ve enjoyed on social media – e.g. friendship, entertainment – and how they might find such experiences elsewhere.
• Recognise that some children may move deeper into gaming, messaging apps, or AI chatbots, all of which have risks. Check game ratings and app reviews, choose high privacy settings, and read about the dangers of AI ‘companions’.
• Report any cyber bullying to the platform or eSafety. For further support, consult a healthcare provider, Kids Helpline, Dolly’s Dream Bullying Support Line, or parent helpline.