Global tech giants Meta and TikTok have confirmed they will comply with Australia’s new social media age ban, which prohibits anyone under 16 from using major platforms — but both companies warn the sweeping new laws will be extremely difficult to enforce.
Starting December 10, platforms including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube will be legally required to remove users under the age of 16 from their services across Australia.
The move marks one of the strictest social media regulations in the world, as governments worldwide grapple with how to protect minors online.
‘We Will Comply, But It Won’t Be Easy’
At a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Ella Woods-Joyce, TikTok’s head of policy for Australia, confirmed the company’s intention to follow the law.
“Put simply, TikTok will comply with the law and meet our legislative obligations,” Woods-Joyce said.
However, she cautioned that the “blunt” age ban could backfire, warning that younger users might be pushed into less regulated and more dangerous corners of the Internet.
“Experts believe a ban will drive young people to darker spaces online where protections don’t exist,” she added.
Meta Faces ‘Significant Challenges’
Meta’s policy director, Mia Garlick, told lawmakers that Facebook and Instagram were working to identify and remove potentially hundreds of thousands of underage users before the December deadline.
Still, she acknowledged the process posed “significant new engineering and age assurance challenges.”
“Our goal is compliance — to remove those under 16 — but doing so at scale presents numerous challenges,” Garlick said.
Officials have clarified that companies will not be required to verify every user’s age, but must take “reasonable steps” to detect and deactivate accounts belonging to minors.
Firms found in breach of the new law could face penalties of up to AUS$49.5 million (US$32 million).
‘Vague, Rushed, and Problematic’
Critics across the tech industry have described the new rules as vague, rushed, and poorly thought out.
YouTube, which is also covered by the ban, said it supported Australia’s aim to protect children but questioned the law’s practicality.
“The legislation will be extremely difficult to enforce and fails to deliver on its promise of making kids safer online,” said Rachel Lord, YouTube’s Australian spokesperson.
Australia’s online safety regulator has suggested that the ban could extend beyond major social media networks to include messaging services like WhatsApp, streaming platforms such as Twitch, and gaming hubs like Roblox — though these details are still being finalized.
With just weeks before the law takes effect, both regulators and tech firms are racing to close loopholes and clarify enforcement rules.
Despite the uncertainty, the December 10 deadline stands — setting the stage for a global test of whether such a sweeping digital age restriction can truly work in practice.
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