Australia plans to strengthen laws banning children from social media
Three boys use their phones while sitting outside a school in Sydney, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian government plans to strengthen laws that ban children younger than 16 from social media platforms, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
Observers said on Friday the government was responding to evidence that the ban on young children holding accounts on platforms including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube had failed since it came into force on Dec. 10 last year. Australia was the first country in the world to pass legislation keeping youth off social media, but others have since followed.
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