These Countries are Also Looking to Ban Kids on Social Media

Governments around the world are moving to restrict how children and teenagers use social media, with Australia emerging as the first country to push through a nationwide ban for under‑16s. Other nations are now weighing or drafting similar rules as concerns grow over cyberbullying, addiction, mental health, and exposure to online predators.

While momentum is building, the measures are far from uniform. Some bans are already in force or close to becoming law, others are at the proposal stage, and many face political pushback and legal scrutiny. At the same time, civil liberties groups and privacy advocates warn that age checks and blanket restrictions risk overreach.

Australia was the first country to move ahead with a nationwide ban on social media for children under 16, introduced in December 2025. The rules target mainstream social platforms and streaming services, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, and Kick. Notably, WhatsApp and YouTube Kids are not covered.

The Australian government has told platforms they must actively keep under‑16s off their services, and cannot rely on self-declared ages in sign-up forms. Instead, the government expects companies to use multiple verification methods to establish whether a user is old enough. Non-compliant firms could face penalties of up to 49.5 million AUD (about 34.4 million USD).

The government’s plans could become law as soon as mid‑2026, according to the Associated Press. In parallel, the Danish digital affairs ministry is developing a “digital evidence” app with age verification tools that may be used as part of the Australian framework.

Beyond Australia, several countries are moving at different speeds and with varying levels of political backing:

• France: In late January, lawmakers in France passed a bill to ban social media for children under 15. President Emmanuel Macron has backed the proposal, presenting it as a way to protect children from excessive screen time. The measure is not yet final: it still needs to pass through the Senate and then return to the lower house for a concluding vote.
• Germany: In early February, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative bloc discussed a proposal to bar children under 16 from social media, according to Reuters. However, members of the governing centre‑left coalition signalled reluctance to support a full ban, indicating that Germany’s approach is still contested and uncertain.
• Greece: Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced in April that Greece plans to ban access to social media for children under 15 starting January 2027. He linked the move to rising anxiety and sleep problems among young people, and to what he described as the addictive design of social media platforms.
• Indonesia: Indonesia said in early March that it is banning children under 16 from using social media and other popular online platforms. Authorities plan to start with services such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox.
• Malaysia: In November 2025, Malaysia’s government announced plans to ban social media for children under 16. The country intends to put the measure into effect this year, though detailed implementation steps were not outlined in the source material.
• Slovenia: Slovenia is drafting legislation to block access to social media for children under 15, the country’s deputy prime minister said in early February. The effort is focused on social networks where content is shared, with platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram cited as examples.
• Spain: Spain’s prime minister announced in early February that the government plans to ban social media for children under 16. The proposal still requires parliamentary approval. In addition, Spain is looking at a separate law that would make social media executives personally accountable for hate speech on their platforms.
• United Kingdom: The U.K. is considering a ban on social media for under‑16s. The government says it will consult parents, young people, and civil society groups to assess whether such a ban would be effective. It is also examining whether to compel social platforms to curb or remove features that encourage compulsive use, such as endless scrolling.

Proponents of these bans argue that stricter age rules are needed to protect children from cyberbullying, compulsive use, mental health harms, and the risk of encountering predators or harmful content online. Australia’s framework, and the various proposals emerging in Europe and Asia, are built around that basic premise.

But the push is colliding with concerns over privacy and digital rights. Critics, including Amnesty Tech, warn that sweeping bans and intrusive age-verification systems may do little to address the root causes of online harm while expanding government reach into people’s digital lives. They also argue that such policies can underestimate how deeply integrated social media is in younger generations’ social and educational activities.

Many of the proposed laws leave key details to be worked out: how platforms will verify age without collecting excessive data, how enforcement will be monitored across borders, and how regulators will measure whether bans actually improve young people’s wellbeing. With several of these measures still in draft form and others awaiting final votes, the global landscape around children’s access to social media remains in flux.