Subhead:The Albanese government’s controversial under-16 social media ban comes with ‘serious pitfalls’ that are being ignored.#
Australia’s forthcoming under-16 social media ban has triggered a wave of concern from cybersecurity specialists, technology companies and politicians, who say the laws could compromise privacy and funnel users toward risky identification systems.
In case you were wondering why the media is supporting the Under 16 social media ban…
SOCIAL MEDIA IS THE BIGGEST THREAT TO WOKE LEGACY MEDIA. THEY WANT IT DEAD OR REGULATED OUT OF THE MARKET.
They don’t care about your rights. They care about their profits.
— Alexandra Marshall (@ellymelly) December 6, 2025
From 10 December 2025, social media platforms will be required to remove users identified as under 16 and delete their accounts or face fines of up to $50 million. The rules leave it to tech companies to work out how to verify users’ ages, resulting in a mix of facial analysis, government ID uploads, credit card checks and behavioural inference.
