Australia Launches $14 Million Campaign for Teen Social Media Ban Taking Effect Dec. 10
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Australia will launch a $14 million national advertising campaign Sunday for a social media ban affecting everyone under 16, with Communications Minister Annika Wells announcing platforms face fines up to $49.5 million if they fail to comply when the law takes effect Dec. 10.
The campaign, titled “For The Good Of,” will appear on billboards near schools, television, online platforms and — ironically — on social media itself until the ban goes live. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, X and YouTube must verify users’ ages and block accounts belonging to anyone under 16 or face penalties for systemic breaches.
“Until the 10th of December, it is legal for kids to be on social media,” Wells said at a news conference. “If that’s where they are, that’s where we need to talk to them about what this means and why we’re doing it.”
Wells met Tuesday with representatives from Snapchat, Meta and TikTok to clarify enforcement procedures ahead of the deadline. She said the platforms “all understand their obligations under Australian law” and expressed confidence they would comply.
The ban represents one of the world’s strictest social media age restrictions, with enforcement falling to Australia’s E-Safety Commissioner. Wells acknowledged questions remain about implementation but defended the approach as necessary to protect young people from online harms.
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How the Ban Works
Social media companies operating in Australia must conduct age assurance checks and notify affected users before Dec. 10. Wells said she expects platforms to send warnings to accounts they identify as belonging to users under 16.
“My expectation is that they will provide notifications to accounts in the run up to 10 December saying that we have conducted age assurance and we have identified your account as being one that is belonging to someone who is aged under 16,” Wells said. “Therefore, come 10 December, it is our obligation under Australia law that we will have to deactivate this account.”
Platforms must establish clear appeals processes for users who believe their ages were incorrectly verified. Wells emphasized these notifications should happen before the ban takes effect, not after.
“My expectation is those things happen in the run-up to 10 December, not after 10 December,” she said.
The law places responsibility on platforms rather than teenagers or parents. Wells repeatedly stressed that “these obligations upon social media platforms that operate in Australia, these are not laws upon young Australians or their parents.”
“The obligation is on the platform to comply with the law,” she said.
Age Verification Technology
A 1,200-page government report concluded age assurance technology “can be effective, it can be safe and it will work,” according to Wells. However, the government will not mandate specific verification methods, allowing each platform to use its own proprietary technology.
“It’s got a little bit different for each platform,” Wells said. “They’ve all got their own intellectual property. They’re obviously all rivals with one another. We’re not going to regulate universal methods for compliance.”
The E-Safety Commissioner will monitor compliance, though Wells provided limited details about enforcement mechanisms beyond the financial penalties.
When asked about her confidence in age verification technology, Wells said: “I’m confident that it can work and it is up to the platforms to make sure that it does.”
Teen Reactions Mixed
Wells said the vast majority of students she speaks with support the ban, though she acknowledged the response varies by age group.
“The vast majority of students that I speak to are happy and grateful that these laws are coming in,” Wells said. “It’s not the case for everybody.”
The minister said officials are “particularly attuned to the fact that people who are 13, 14, 15 are having something taken away rather than kids who are under 13 who will just meet the new law as it exists.”
Users 16 and older who experience online harm will keep their accounts under the current law, though Wells said officials continue evaluating all scenarios.
Wells described a sense of relief among some teenagers who feel pressured to maintain social media presence.
“I think the gratitude is that this law applies to everybody and that everybody will face the same cultural expectation that kids are not online on a social media account between the ages of 13 to 16,” she said. “I think the sense that everybody will be facing a new world, everybody will need to interact with each other face-to-face the way that people used to do, I think is ultimately seen as a good thing.”
She added that many students can describe harms they or their friends have experienced online.
Platform Meetings
Wells confirmed she met separately with Snapchat, Meta and TikTok on Tuesday, declining to name specific representatives but saying attendees included a mix of founders and government relations staff.
The meetings allowed platforms to ask questions of both Wells and E-Safety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, who attended jointly to show unified policy and enforcement approaches.
“I think what’s remarkable about these meetings is that the East Safety Commissioner and I got together and offered ourselves in the one meeting so that both the platform can see we are in lockstep about this policy,” Wells said.
Officials also discussed compliance plans and specific age assurance tools platforms plan to implement.
“I am confident they understand their obligations under Australian law, and they will deliver upon their obligations for 10 December,” Wells said.
What Comes Next
Wells positioned the age ban as the “first tranche of reforms in online safety,” with digital duty of care legislation coming next. That framework would establish obligations for platforms conducting business and generating revenue in Australia.
“Once we land these reforms on 10 December, once the platforms comply with Australian law come 10 December, the next space we’re moving into is digital duty of care,” Wells said.
The duty of care consultation will examine what responsibilities platforms have to Australian customers. Wells said the consultation period opens soon.
“This is definitely not set-and-forget laws,” she said. “Obviously, this is a fast-evolving space, and we will keep attuned to minimising online harms, not just for young Australians, but for all Australians.”
Campaign Details
The advertising campaign launches Sunday, Oct. 19, running across multiple channels including locations where teenagers spend time. Wells noted the paradox of advertising a social media ban on social media platforms.
“They’ll see them. There’ll be some on school billboards near schools around the country. They’ll see it on TV. They’ll see it online,” Wells said. “They’ll see it, ironically, on social media, because until the 10th of December, it is legal for kids to be on social media.”
Materials previewed at the news conference will air from Sunday as both an awareness campaign and regulatory measure.
Wells characterized the initiative as addressing concerns parents and educators have raised about social media’s impact on young people while acknowledging the technology won’t eliminate all online risks.
The E-Safety Commissioner has recently discussed potential workarounds, according to Wells, though she maintained confidence in the overall approach.
As a member of the House of Representatives, Wells said decisions in “the other place” — referring to the Senate — are “not for me to compel.” She works collaboratively with Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino on related media issues, including the News Media Bargaining Code.
The ban puts Australia at the forefront of global efforts to regulate children’s social media access, though critics have questioned whether age verification technology can effectively prevent determined teenagers from accessing platforms.
Wells framed the cultural shift as the key outcome, arguing universal application removes individual pressure to opt out.
“At the moment you are socially isolated for opting out of, there’s something that everybody is online, a sense that if you don’t have your own TikTok account, you are missing out on something,” she said.
Under the new system, “everybody will be facing a new world,” she said.
The Dec. 10 deadline gives platforms less than two months to implement age verification systems and notify affected users before accounts are deactivated.
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