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Musk's X says it will comply, final platform to agree

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Australia first in world to ban social media for under-16s

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Ten major platforms ordered to block children or face fine

By Byron Kaye and Renju Jose

SYDNEY, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Australia on Wednesday became

the first country to ban social media for children under 16,

blocking access to platforms including TikTok, Alphabet's

YouTube and Meta's Instagram and Facebook.

Ten of the biggest platforms were ordered to block children from

midnight (1300 GMT on Tuesday) or face fines of up to A$49.5

million ($33 million) under the new law, which drew criticism

from major technology companies and free speech advocates, but

was welcomed by many parents and child advocates.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it "a proud day" for

families and cast the law as proof that policymakers can curb

online harms that have outpaced traditional safeguards.

"This will make an enormous difference. It is one of the

biggest social and cultural changes that our nation has faced,"

Albanese told a news conference on Wednesday.

"It's a profound reform which will continue to reverberate

around the world."

In a video message, Albanese urged children to "start a new

sport, new instrument, or read that book that has been sitting

there for some time on your shelf," ahead of Australia's summer

school break starting later this month.

In the hours before the ban took effect, many of the

estimated one million children impacted by the legislation began

posting messages saying goodbye to their online followers.

"No more social media... no more contact with the rest of

the world," wrote one teen on TikTok.

"#seeyouwhenim16," said another.

The rollout caps a year of debate over whether any country

could practically stop children from using platforms embedded in

daily life, and begins a live test for governments worldwide

frustrated that social media firms have been slow to implement

harm-reduction measures.

Albanese's centre-left government proposed the landmark law

citing research showing harms to mental health from the overuse

of social media among young teens, including misinformation,

bullying and harmful depictions of body image.

Several countries from Denmark to New Zealand to Malaysia

have signalled they may study or emulate Australia's model,

making the country a test case for how far governments can push

age-gating without stifling speech or innovation.

'NOT OUR CHOICE': X SAYS WILL COMPLY

Elon Musk's X became the last of the 10 major platforms to

take measures to cut off access to underage teens after publicly

acknowledging on Wednesday that it would comply.

"It's not our choice - it's what the Australian law

requires," X said on its website.

"X automatically offboards anyone who does not meet our age

requirements."

Australia has said the initial list of covered platforms

would change as new products emerge and young users migrate.

Companies have told Canberra they will deploy a mix of age

inference - estimating a user's age from their behaviour - and

age estimation based on a selfie, alongside checks that could

include uploaded identification documents or linked bank account

details.

For social media businesses, the implementation marks a new

era of structural stagnation as user numbers flatline and time

spent on platforms shrinks, studies show.

Platforms say they earn little from advertising to

under-16s, but warn the ban disrupts a pipeline of future users.

Just before the ban took effect, 86% of Australians aged eight

to 15 used social media, the government said.

Some youngsters have warned the social media ban could

isolate people.

"It's going to be worse for queer people and people with

niche interests I guess because that's the only way they can

find their community," said 14-year-old Annie Wang ahead of the

ban.

"Some people also use it to vent their feelings and talk to

people to get help ... So I feel like it'll be fine for some

people, but for some people it'll worsen their mental health."

($1 = 1.5097 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Byron Kaye and Renju Jose; Writing by Alasdair Pal

and Alexandra Hudson; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Mark Potter and

Lincoln Feast.)