Australia's Social Media Ban

Australia has made international headlines by passing the world's first comprehensive social media ban for children under 16. The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024, which received Royal Assent in late November 2024, represents a watershed moment in how societies approach child protection in the digital age (Australian Parliament, 2024)¹. As this groundbreaking legislation prepares to take effect in December 2025, Catholic communities across Australia and beyond are grappling with its implications for family life, education, and the formation of young people.

The Legislation: Key Provisions and Implementation

The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 amends the Online Safety Act 2021 and requires 'age-restricted social media platforms' to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 years from having accounts on their platforms (Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts, 2024)². The laws place the onus on social media platforms – not young people or their parents – to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 years of age from having accounts and ensures systemic breaches will see platforms face fines of up to $49.5 million (Prime Minister of Australia, 2024)³.

The minimum age will apply to 'age-restricted social media platforms' as defined in the Bill, which includes Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, X and others, whilst services used for education such as Messenger Kids, WhatsApp, YouTube, Kids Helpline and Google Classroom are expected to be exempt (Wikipedia, 2025)⁴. The legislation provides a 12-month implementation period, with enforcement expected to begin in late 2025.

Supportive Perspectives

Dany Elachi, a Catholic father of five from Sydney, played a large role in lobbying for the social media ban through a coalition of other concerned parents that he spearheads called the Heads Up Alliance, which advocates that parents ought to delay their children's access to social media (Catholic News Agency, 2025)⁵. Elachi's testimony before Australian lawmakers in October helped shape the legislation, representing the concerns of many Catholic parents who feel overwhelmed by the challenges of protecting their children in digital spaces.

Jim Schroeder, a Catholic and a U.S.-based child psychologist, told CNA that he believes Australia is "on the right track" with its social media ban for under-16-year-olds — a drastic but potentially necessary response given the growing body of scientific evidence showing how detrimental smartphones and social media can be for developing brains (Catholic News Agency, 2025)⁵.

Official Church Response

A June 2024 submission from the Australian Catholic Bishops' Conference as part of a review of the country's Online Safety Act 2021, signed by Archbishop Peter Comensoli of Melbourne in his capacity as chairman of the Australian bishops' Commission for Life, Family, and Public Engagement, focused mainly on the "urgent" need to protect children from online pornography (Catholic News Agency, 2025)⁵. The bishops advocated for comprehensive approaches that combine legislative measures with parental education and platform accountability.

Comensoli, who leads Australia's largest archdiocese, told CNA that the Church in Australia is actively engaged in advocating and proactively helping parents to protect their children online, including from the potential negative effects of social media and smartphone use (Catholic News Agency, 2025)⁵.

Implementation Challenges and Ethical Concerns

The practical implementation of the social media ban raises significant ethical and technical challenges that Catholic observers have identified.

Privacy and Age Verification

There are really only three ways you can verify someone's age online, and that's through ID, through behavioral signals or through biometrics. And all have privacy implications (NPR, 2024)⁸. The tension between protecting children and preserving privacy reflects deeper questions about surveillance, digital rights, and the balance between safety and freedom.

Effectiveness and Unintended Consequences

Media and online gaming bans in countries such as China, South Korea, and France have been largely ineffective, as children bypass restrictions using virtual private networks and other methods (The Lancet Digital Health, 2025)⁷. Critics worry that determined young people will simply migrate to less regulated platforms or develop technical workarounds.

Digital Inclusion and Access Rights

The Australian Human Rights Commission has serious reservations about the proposed social media ban, arguing that such a social media ban is likely to also have negative human rights impacts on children and young people (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2024)⁹.

The Commission highlights the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which notes that content moderation and content controls should not be used to restrict children's access to information in the digital environment; they should be used only to prevent the flow of harmful material to children (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2024)⁹.

Global Implications and Future Directions

Australia's social media ban is being closely watched internationally as a potential model for child protection in the digital age. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation recently that "This is world-leading legislation, but I assure you, the whole world is watching" (NPR, 2024)¹⁰.

References

1. Australian Parliament. (2024). Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024. Parliament of Australia. https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r7284

2. Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts. (2024). Social media minimum age legislation passed. Australian Government. https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/department/media/news/social-media-minimum-age-legislation-passed

3. Prime Minister of Australia. (2024). Social media reforms to protect our kids online pass Parliament. https://www.pm.gov.au/media/social-media-reforms-protect-our-kids-online-pass-parliament

4. Wikipedia. (2025). Online Safety Amendment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_Safety_Amendment

5. Catholic News Agency. (2025). Catholics weigh in on Australia's social media ban: 'A void in our children's spiritual lives'. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/261265/catholics-weigh-in-on-australias-social-media-ban-a-void-in-our-childrens-spiritual-lives

6. National Catholic Register. (2024). Australia Just Banned Minors Under Age 16 From Social Media — What Are Catholics Saying? https://www.ncregister.com/news/australia-social-media-ban-what-are-catholics-saying

7. The Lancet Digital Health. (2025). Potential effects of the social media age ban in Australia for children younger than 16 years. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/landig/article/PIIS2589-7500(25)00024-X/fulltext

8. NPR. (2024). How will Australia's under-16 social media ban work? We asked the law's enforcer. https://www.npr.org/2024/12/19/nx-s1-5231020/australia-top-regulator-kids-social-media-ban

9. Australian Human Rights Commission. (2024). Proposed Social Media Ban for Under-16s in Australia. https://humanrights.gov.au/about/news/proposed-social-media-ban-under-16s-australia

10. NPR. (2024). How will Australia's teen social media ban actually work? https://www.npr.org/2024/12/09/nx-s1-5218160/how-will-australias-teen-social-media-actually-work