{"id":11449,"date":"2025-01-03T10:23:54","date_gmt":"2025-01-03T09:23:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.usercentrics.com\/?post_type=knowledge&p=11449"},"modified":"2025-06-26T12:55:14","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T10:55:14","slug":"online-safety-amendment-social-media-minimum-age-bill","status":"publish","type":"knowledge","link":"https:\/\/usercentrics-poc.psapp.dev\/us\/knowledge-hub\/online-safety-amendment-social-media-minimum-age-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill: Will the social media ban for teens work?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In November 2024, Australia\u2019s Parliament passed the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024<\/a>. This new law has grabbed international attention as a serious attempt to address harm to children as the result of using social media platforms. We look at what the Amendment\u2019s scope, social media platforms that are affected, how companies need to comply, and what potential penalties are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the Australian Online Safety Amendment?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Online Safety Amendment amends the Online Safety Act 2021<\/a>. It\u2019s designed to create specific requirements for children\u2019s access to social media platforms, the most notable being a ban for children in Australia under age 16 from holding accounts on these platforms. Companies operating affected social media platforms will be expected to introduce and enforce age gating to prevent children from using the platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s common under a number of international laws to restrict the access to social platforms for children under age 13, and age verification is required, though often circumvented. 13 is the same age at which people generally become categorized as adults under many data privacy laws \u2014 or they enter a mid-range including ages 13 to 16. Typically by that age, where consent is required, it now must be obtained directly from the individuals, rather than from a parent or guardian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Online Safety Amendment dovetails with broader data privacy law in that it includes specific privacy protections, including limiting children\u2019s use of the platforms, and retention of personal data that\u2019s collected on them. Noncompliance penalties are also substantial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why was the Australian Online Safety Amendment introduced?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The bill was introduced to address ongoing concerns about the impacts of children\u2019s access to social media platforms. The impacts of exposure to social media at a critical development are not yet fully understood, so the full harm potential is not yet known. Studies have already shown negative impacts on children\u2019s and teens\u2019 mental health, and there have been criminal cases involving predators accessing and manipulating children through social platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Children\u2019s activities online also aren\u2019t always well monitored or carefully limited, and the prevalence of Wi-Fi and mobile devices makes access to social platforms ever easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What has the reaction been to the Australian social media ban for children?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The law has been controversial in some circles. Not unexpectedly, there have been mixed reviews, including whether the law goes too far, not far enough, or misses the mark in its intent. Critics make a variety of claims, including: <\/p>\n\n\n\n