Australia begins enforcing world-first teen social media ban

Starting at midnight (1300 GMT on Tuesday), 10 of the largest platforms including TikTok, Alphabet's YouTube and Meta's Instagram and Facebook were ordered to block children or face fines of up to A$49.5 million ($33 million) under the new law, which is being closely watched by regulators worldwide.

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."

A young girl uses smartphone. Photo from Pexels

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.

Ban Has Global Implications

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.