Australia

26.12.2024

new Part 4A- social media minimum age inserted in Australia’s existing the Online Safety Act of 2021
The law, which requires 10 social media services including Reddit to set 16 as the minimum age for account holders.
Failing to meet this requirement may result in a maximum civil penalty of $49.5 millions.
There is no civil penalty for parents who provide access to Age Restricted Social Media Platforms (ARSMPs) for children under 16.

Youtube banned

YouTube, one of the most used apps by children, was initially exempt but later included, after protests from other social media companies that it was getting preferential treatment.

Twitch banned

Twitch, the livestreaming service, was added less than a month before the law went into force.

Roblox excluded

Roblox, a gaming platform hugely popular among teens and children, is not subject to the ban but last month rolled out age estimation technology for its chat function in response to concerns that it had enabled sexual exploitation. It will become mandatory this month in Australia, the Netherlands and New Zealand

Reddit sues government - December 2025

infringes children rights to political communication
The company said it would use an “age prediction model” and prompt any users estimated to be between the ages of 13 and 16 to verify their age.

Vast amount content accessible without an account

It also noted that “vast amounts” of the content on many social media sites is accessible without an account, arguing that meant that “the reduction of risk of harm is minimal (at best)” weighed against the curtailing of children’s rights. https://trib.al/SUWZgqo NYT

Texas, USA

May, 2025

Law for app stores to restrict the users

Texas passed a law, to google and apple to check the ages of mobile app store users and require parent's permission before teenager or child can download an app or use it to buy something. [^1]
The latest law in another win for Meta in its battle with apple over who should be held responsible for checking user's age.

Second after Utah

This comes after Utah state in US.

Texas already has law in place for restricted social media content moderation and another requiring adult oriented websites to verify user's age. Both have been challenged in cases, that reached the US Supreme Court.

Netchoice v. Paxton

The restrictions on content moderation are on hold after the high court's majority signaled last year in Netchoice v. Paxton that they may violate the First Amendment and sent the case back to lower courts.

SC ruling

A SC ruling on the age verification requirements for adult websites is expected in the coming weeks.

The social media giant has pushed for laws that put the onus on the operators of mobile app stores - apple and google - rather than individual apps, such as Facebook, Snapchat, Roblox.
Apple has lobbied heavily on the other side. The Wall Street journal reported last week that Apple CEO Tim Cook called Abbott, governor of Texas, personally to ask for veto or for a change.

KOSA

Earlier this month, Apple lent its support to federal kids online safety act or KOSA, which would hold social media companies rather than app stores responsible for keeping young users safe.

First Amendment

The biggest obstacle so far has proved to be the first amendment, which sets high bar for government to justify laws that curtail otherwise legal expression, though there are exceptions for obscenity and speech that's deemed harmful to children. [^1]: The Washington Post 30.05.2025

France

January 2026

French President Emmanuel Macron hinted that Paris would protect children and teenagers from social media and screens.
The proposed legislation would restrict access to social media for children under 15.
The draft will be debated by the country's parliament on January 192026.
The bill also proposes a night time digital curfew for older teenagers from 15 to 18.
Mobile phone usage restrictions already in place in primary and middle schools will be extended to high schools as well.
The idea follows a six month investigation by French parliamentary Commission, which found that platforms like Tiktok were deliberately exposing minors to harmful and addictive content, according to BBC.
Experts have also warned that frequent notifications, alerts and disappearing content can disrupt sleep, reduce attention spans and increase stress levels among children and teenagers. Business Standard

Other countries are considering or testing similar measures

Spain, Greece

Spain and Greece are moving towards mandatory age restrictions on platforms such as Facebook and X, according to Bloomberg.

Italy, Denmark

Italy and Denmark are testing age verification systems to block underage access to social media apps.

New Zealand

New Zealand is also considering a similar legislation, according to that of Australia.

Indonesia

Indonesia announced plans to introduce minimum age for social media use. While the final rules were less restricted, platforms are now required to filter harmful content and strengthen age verification processes.

Malaysia

Malaysia is preparing new laws to better protect children and teenagers online.

Measures by tech apps

Meta is strengthening age checks to ensure teenagers only see appropriate content for their age group. It also avoids recommending sensitive or potentially harmful content to teens on features such as Reels and Explore.

Snapchat has also added tighter protections for young users. Teen accounts are private by default, and they can only chat with friends they have already approved. Tagging is limited to existing contacts.

TikTok and other platforms have made similar adjustments, but regulators around the world are demanding stronger and more consistent protections as concerns continue to grow.

The move makes UK, part of growing global movement to tighten online safety for children. Business Standard