- Law targets platforms mainly built for user interaction and content sharing.
- Messaging, professional, gaming, education, and health apps may be exempt.
- Platforms must block underage accounts, verify all users, and prevent workarounds.
- Enforcement handled by the eSafety commissioner with fines up to A$49.5m.
- Age checks to use mixed methods — not only ID.
- Critics doubt full effectiveness; PM says effort is still worth it.
The government’s new “age-restricted social media” rules apply to services focused on connecting users and allowing them to post content. Apps like WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Roblox, and Coursera could avoid the ban if they are formally assessed as not falling within the scope.
Platforms caught under the rules must deactivate underage accounts, block new sign-ups from children, verify everyone’s age, and block any tricks users might try. The eSafety commissioner will oversee compliance and can issue fines of up to A$49.5 million.
Companies can’t rely on ID alone. Likely methods include confirming through a bank or mobile provider, matching photo ID with uploaded images, using facial age estimation tech, or AI that studies account history and behaviour patterns.
Sceptics doubt that the system can completely keep teenagers out. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese admitted some young people will still find ways in, likening it to alcohol laws. In the UK, similar age checks for adult websites have already caused a spike in VPN use.
Other platforms like Bluesky, Truth Social, Discord, and Twitch will need to determine whether they also fall under the new law. Albanese says the effort is worthwhile: “These are world-leading rules not set-and-forget, but set-and-support.”
