# Australian under 16 Teen social media ban **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 9, 2025, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563 "2025-12-09T17:56:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/61 "2025-12-15T15:50:09Z")
The problem with social media is not necessarily the social media itself. The problem is the companies behind social media trying to maximize profits by getting the users addicted to the platform. Companies deliver content that is much more about creating engagement that generates revenue rather than keeping up with what friends are up to. It’s pretty hard find stories from your friends in the sea of suggested and promoted content. I think social media for kids would be better if had restrictions like: - Only see content from people they follow (no suggested content) - Can only follow a limited number of accounts - The social media company cannot make money from underage accounts (Cannot show ads, no selling of user data, etc.) - The kid can’t make money from the account - Parents have full access Restrictions like that would mean that the negative effects of social media would be limited. Kids would just be more likely to just follow the accounts of their actual friends rather than influencers who are just advertising products and services. It would be less addictive since they wouldn’t be affected by algorithms designed to maximize time spent on the platform. Since the company couldn’t make money off of these accounts used by kids, they would be less incentivized to find ways to make them addicted to the platform. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/62 "2025-12-15T17:42:38Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Smoking is also something that is inherently and always harmful. Not true. It had religious, social and medicinal uses for centuries. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/63 "2025-12-15T19:46:19Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > The US administration wants our primary school age kids to have unfettered access to US based social media so they can assess their online history for subversive tendencies when they try to visit Disneyland? … and we’re the control freaks? There’s more than one way to be a control freak. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/64 "2025-12-15T20:43:04Z")
Well in that case it’s pick your poison. And in this dichotomy “our” side is the more reasoned and accountable whilst “yours” is fiscal gain from the exploitation of minors. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/65 "2025-12-15T20:45:55Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > And in this dichotomy “our” side is the more reasoned and accountable whilst “yours” is fiscal gain from the exploitation of minors. No; one side is a bunch of bullies and control freaks, the other are amoral predators. They aren’t accountable; the _entire point_ of going after kids is that kids can’t fight back. Or even argue back, given that they’ve been silenced. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/66 "2025-12-15T21:14:58Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > They aren’t accountable; You have some curious misconceptions about democratic governance … mayhaps the current US administration is weighing heavy on your judgement. [Latest polling results](https://www.monash.edu/news/articles/4-in-5-australian-adults-support-social-media-ban-for-kids) on the issue: **79% support.** Demographic with lowest support is with the 18-24yos at merely 72% Bipartisan support, indeed it’s strongest support is with the opposition parties rather than the Labor government. (respondents identifying as) National - 88% Liberal - 85% Labor - 82% Greens - 71% Hell, even the Libertarian Party has 52% support. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/67 "2025-12-15T21:21:07Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > You have some curious misconceptions about democratic governance … No? Quite the opposite; kids can’t vote, so they make perfect targets. This is democracy in action, going after the people who aren’t allowed a voice. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/68 "2025-12-15T21:25:03Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Or even argue back, given that they’ve been silenced. Methinks you have jumped the shark. Australia’s under 16yos have been silenced from political discourse with this ban? Minecraft isn’t typically a medium for political protest on these shores. They can still send their local MP an SMS, or send a letter, or send an email, wave a banner outside the constituency office or call in to talk-back radio. That’s what their parents do. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/69 "2025-12-16T00:20:10Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > They can still send their local MP an SMS, or send a letter, or send an email, wave a banner outside the constituency office or call in to talk-back radio. That’s what their parents do. By design, all things that are easily ignored or silenced. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/70 "2025-12-16T00:31:06Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > By design, all things that are easily ignored or silenced. Of course Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, Kick, Reddit, Twitch, and X can not be ignored or silenced by definition. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/71 "2025-12-16T00:38:05Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Of course Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok, Kick, Reddit, Twitch, and X can not be ignored or silenced by definition. They allow cross communication, rather than isolating people. Forcing people to only talk to their enemy is the same as not letting them talk at all. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/72 "2025-12-16T00:44:08Z")
Sadly, Gil Scott-Heron didn’t live long enough to see that this needed an update, [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/GhcyQ9fETuk/maxresdefault.jpg "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised music video (showing all the references)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhcyQ9fETuk) ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2025, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/73 "2025-12-16T06:32:11Z")
> [@penultima\_thule](#): > > It’s the US Tech Bros platforms that target the kids. As soon as you say this you lose all credibility in this discussion with me. Insisting on personifying social media by reference to the despised owners of the platforms just says “I got nuthin’ so I’m going to engage in emotive ad homs”. There are problems with social media. If you want to be convincing to an educated and thoughtful audience you are going to have to do better than resort to cheap shots. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2025, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/74 "2025-12-17T13:53:29Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > As soon as you say this you lose all credibility in this discussion with me. Insisting on personifying social media by reference to the despised owners of the platforms just says “I got nuthin’ so I’m going to engage in emotive ad homs”. @filmore had a good post with their reasoning and suggestions for improvement: > [@filmore](#): > > The problem with social media is not necessarily the social media itself. The problem is the companies behind social media trying to maximize profits by getting the users addicted to the platform. Companies deliver content that is much more about creating engagement that generates revenue rather than keeping up with what friends are up to. Limiting products with health hazards is nothing new. Social Media is a product with a speech component (among others like content consumption) which complicates the issue. If one agrees that their are health issues with SM, it’s at least reasonable to require SM products to disable the harmful, non-speech features for minors and add protections for the remaining speech features. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/75 "2026-02-05T01:07:53Z")
Spain joins the group of countries seeking to [ban social media for under-16s](https://edition.cnn.com/2026/02/03/tech/spain-under-16-social-media-ban-intl) and require platforms to employ strict age verification tools. Spain would therefore join Australia, France and Denmark in this initiative. Britain is apparently also considering the move. Bill Gates told Australian [9 News on Wednesday (4th Feb-26)](https://www.news.com.au/technology/spain-to-follow-australia-in-banning-under16s-from-social-media/news-story/faf48dc6c7f2d029539d4d24d9efe4c7) that the social media ban for children was a “good idea”. “I know it’s not an easy thing to implement. I think it’s a favour to the world,” he said. On the other hand Elon Musk rather has his knickers in a squirrel grip: [Musk wrote on X in response](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2026/feb/04/spain-under-16-social-media-ban-elon-musk-insults): “Dirty Sánchez is a tyrant and a traitor to the people of Spain.” About an hour and a half later, he escalated his criticism, posting on X: “Sánchez is the true fascist totalitarian.” Give the man his due, he’s been up close and personal in this area of study and I’d reckon it’s likely he could recognise a tyrant, a traitor and a fascist embodied. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/76 "2026-02-05T17:59:28Z")
FWIW: polls in Austria show 84% in favor of under-16 ban of Social Media. my guess: 3 years from now, the better part of the developed world will have bans in place (USA: don’t think so) ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/77 "2026-02-05T19:41:17Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > FWIW: polls in Austria show 84% in favor of under-16 ban of Social Media. Of course; it doesn’t apply to _them_ so why would they oppose it? Most adults are going to fall into the categories of “indifferent”, “abuser” and/or “control freak”, all of whom would either not care or favor it while the people actually affected are politically voiceless. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/78 "2026-02-05T19:44:30Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Of course; it doesn’t apply to _them_ so why would they oppose it? Yep, people tend to be very casual about banning things that _they_ don’t care about. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/79 "2026-02-05T20:36:04Z")
I also think there is an analogy to the whole 2020 Covid-decisions: One country implemented a (somewhat) extreme position and it worked (at least there was no huge backlash) … so that is a known avenue AND precedence for other countries to walk down. Italy/China blazing trails in 2020. Australia blazing trails in 2025/26. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2026, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563/80 "2026-02-05T20:54:11Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > One country implemented a (somewhat) extreme position and it worked (at least there was no huge backlash) … so that is a known avenue AND precedence for other countries to walk down. There’s nothing new about stomping on young people; they can’t vote or otherwise fight back, so they are favorite targets. The control freaks and abusers _can_ vote, so pandering to them is more important. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-under-16-teen-social-media-ban/1025563.md?page=5)