Geline Salac

Article (news)

social media

SOCIALMEDIASCROLLING

Agence France-Presse

<p>SYDNEY - Tech giants Meta and TikTok said Tuesday they will obey Australia&#x27;s under-16 social media ban but warned the landmark laws could prove difficult to enforce.</p><p>Australia will from December 10 force social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to remove users under the age of 16.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QpPZQGVwvBY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>There is keen interest in whether Australia&#x27;s sweeping restrictions can work, as regulators around the globe wrestle with the dangers of social media.</p><p>Both TikTok and Meta -- the parent company of Facebook and Instagram -- said the ban would be hard to police, but agreed they would abide by it.</p><p>&quot;Put simply, TikTok will comply with the law and meet our legislative obligations,&quot; the firm&#x27;s Australia policy lead Ella Woods-Joyce told a Senate hearing on Tuesday.</p><p>On paper, the ban is one of the strictest in the world.</p><p>But with just over a month until it comes into effect, Australia is scrambling to fill in key questions around enforcement and firms&#x27; obligations.</p><p>TikTok warned the &quot;blunt&quot; age ban could have a raft of unintended consequences.</p><p>&quot;Experts believe a ban will push younger people into darker corners of the Internet where protections don&#x27;t exist,&quot; said Woods-Joyce.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>- &#x27;Vague&#x27; and &#x27;rushed&#x27; -</strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Meta policy director Mia Garlick said the firm was still solving &quot;numerous challenges&quot;.</p><p>It would work to remove hundreds of thousands of users under 16 by the December 10 deadline, she told the hearing.</p><p>But identifying and removing those accounts still posed &quot;significant new engineering and age assurance challenges&quot;, she said.</p><p>&quot;The goal from our perspective, being compliance with the law, would be to remove those under 16.&quot;</p><p>Officials have previously said social media companies will not be required to verify the ages of all users -- but must take &quot;reasonable steps&quot; to detect and deactivate underage ones.</p><p>Companies found to be flouting the laws face fines of up to Aus$49.5 million (US$32 million).</p><p>Tech companies have been united in their criticisms of Australia&#x27;s ban, which has been described as &quot;vague&quot;, &quot;problematic&quot;, and &quot;rushed&quot;.</p><p>Video streaming site YouTube - which falls under the ban -- said this month that Australia&#x27;s efforts were well intentioned but poorly thought through.</p><p>&quot;The legislation will not only be extremely difficult to enforce, it also does not fulfil its promise of making kids safer online,&quot; local spokeswoman Rachel Lord said.</p><p>Australia&#x27;s online watchdog recently suggested that messaging service WhatsApp, streaming platform Twitch and gaming site Roblox could also be covered by the ban.</p><p>sft/djw/tc</p>

<p>Tech giants Meta and TikTok said Tuesday they will obey Australia's under-16 social media ban but warned the landmark laws could prove difficult to enforce.</p>

Tech giants Meta and TikTok said Tuesday they will obey Australia's under-16 social media ban but warned the landmark laws could prove difficult to enforce.

Meta and TikTok to obey Australia under-16 social media ban

News

Entertainment

Lifestyle

Sports

Metro.Style

More

BINI

Sudoku

Word of the Day

Lotto

Horoscope

Technology

Meta and TikTok to obey Australia under-16 social media ban

Agence France-Presse

Published October 28, 2025 09:57 AM PHT

Read More:

meta

tiktok

social media ban

australia

ABS-CBN Newsletter

Your go-to source for the latest news, entertainment highlights, exclusive interviews, and updates on your favorite Kapamilya stars.

ABS-CBN Newsletter

Your go-to source for the latest news, entertainment highlights, exclusive interviews, and updates on your favorite Kapamilya stars.

Sign Up

I have read and agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

ABS-CBN is the leading media and entertainment company in the Philippines, offering quality content across TV, radio, digital, and film. Committed to public service and promoting Filipino values, ABS-CBN continues to inspire and connect audiences worldwide.

Corporate

Investors

Governance

International Distribution

Corporate

Governance

Investors

International Distribution

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

AI Policy

Terms of Service

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

NPC Seal of Registration

Privacy Policy

Terms of Service

AI Policy

Advertise with Us

© 2026 ABS-CBN Corporation. All Rights Reserved.