SYDNEY: Australia will soon ban under-16s from the likes of Facebook and TikTok, a world-first move of huge interest to all those worried about the harms of social media.
Internet regulators the world over are watching to see if Australia can rein in the tech giants — but questions remain as the ban approaches on December 10.
Here’s what we know about how Australia will enforce the new restrictions.
Prove age
Starting December 10, some of the world’s largest social media platforms will be forced to remove all users under the age of 16 in Australia.
Hundreds of thousands of adolescents are expected to be impacted, with Instagram alone reporting about 350,000 Australian users aged 13 to 15.
Not every Australian will have to prove their age, only those suspected of falling foul of the ban.
And young users will still be able to access some social media without logging in — they just cannot register for their own accounts.
Verification
Social media platforms will be held responsible for weeding out underage accounts.
A number of trials have looked at different ways to do so, but the Australian government has so far refused to settle on a universally agreed method.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has started deactivating accounts based on information such as the age given when they were created.
Account holders flagged by mistake could verify their age using a “video selfie” or by providing government-issued ID, Meta said.
Who’s in and out
Which platforms fall under the ban continues to be debated.
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok are covered, as are streaming platforms including Kick and Twitch.
YouTube was added, despite the government’s suggestion that it would be exempt so that children could watch lessons online.
Other popular apps and websites such as Roblox, Pinterest and WhatsApp are currently exempt — but the list remains under review.
Just browsing
Australia expects rebellious teens will do their best to skirt the laws.
Guidelines warn they might try to upload fake IDs or use AI to make their photos appear older.
Platforms are expected to devise their own means to stop this happening.
“Of course, no solution is likely to be 100 percent effective all of the time,” the Internet safety watchdog has said.
Harsh penalties
Australia concedes the ban will be far from perfect at the outset, and some underage users will fall through the cracks as issues are ironed out.
But platforms face the threat of $32 million fines if they fail to take “reasonable steps” to comply.
It remains unclear how Australia’s Internet safety regulator would interpret or enforce what counts as reasonable.
“’Reasonable steps’ means platforms have to act to enforce the restrictions in a way that is just and appropriate in the circumstances,” the regulator’s guidelines say.
How Australia plans to ban under-16s from social media
https://arab.news/gpch3
How Australia plans to ban under-16s from social media
- Internet regulators the world over are watching to see if Australia can rein in the tech giants
- Not every Australian will have to prove their age, only those suspected of falling foul of the ban
UN refugee agency chief: ‘Very difficult moment in history’
- According to his agency also known as UNHCR, there are 117.3 million forcibly displaced people around the world from 194 countries
ROME: The first refugee to lead the UN refugee agency has said that the world faces “a very difficult moment in history” and is appealing to a common humanity amid dramatic change.
Repression of immigrants is growing, and the funding to protect them is plummeting.
Without ever mentioning the Trump administration or its policies directly, Barham Salih said his office will have to be inventive to confront the crisis, which includes losing well over $1 billion in US support.
FASTFACT
There are 117.3 million forcibly displaced people around the world from 194 countries.
“Of course it’s a fight, undeniably so, but I think also I’m hopeful and confident that there is enough humanity out there to really enable us to do that,” said Salih, a former president of Iraq.
He was also adamant on the need to safeguard the 1951 refugee convention as the Trump administration campaigns for other governments to join it in upending a decades-old system and redefining asylum rules.
Salih, who took up his role as high commissioner for refugees on Jan. 1, described it as an international legal responsibility and a moral responsibility.
According to his agency also known as UNHCR, there are 117.3 million forcibly displaced people around the world from 194 countries. Salih’s challenge is supporting some 30 million refugees with significantly less funds.
In 2024 and 2025, funding from the US dropped from $2.1 billion to $800 million, and yet the country remains UNHCR’s largest donor.
“Resources made available to helping refugees are being constrained and limited in very, very significant way,” Salih said.
The Trump administration is also reviewing the US asylum system, suspending the refugee program in 2025 and setting a limit for entries to 7,500, mostly white South Africans — a historic low for refugee admittance since the program’s inception in 1980.
The Trump administration also has tightened immigration enforcement as part of its promise to increase deportations, while facing criticism for deportations to third countries and an uproar over two fatal shootings by federal officers and other deaths.
“We have to accept the need for adapting with a new environment in the world,” Salih said.
His agency is seeking to be more cost-effective, “to really deliver assistance to the people who need it, rather than be part of a system that sustains dependency on humanitarian assistance,” he added. Salih has already met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican. He said he was grateful for the support of the pontiff — the first pope from the US.
“The voice of the church and faith-based organizations in this endeavor is absolutely vital,” Salih said. “His moral support, his voice of the need for supporting refugees and what we do as UNHCR at this moment is very, very important.”
