← All Articles

Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban: The Gaps Parents Need to Know

Since 10 December 2025, the biggest social media platforms have been legally required to keep Australians under 16 from holding accounts. Officially it’s a “delay” rather than a ban: the obligation sits with the platforms, and there are no penalties for children or their parents. Ten months on, plenty of families are asking the same thing: my child is under 16, so are they covered now?

The honest answer is: partly. The law covers a specific group of services, and it covers accounts, not content. This guide sets out what’s in, what’s out, and what you can do about the difference.

What the Ban Covers

eSafety’s current list of age-restricted platforms names ten services:

• Facebook, Instagram and Threads
• Snapchat
• TikTok
• YouTube
• X
• Reddit
• Twitch and Kick

Bluesky and Lemon8 have also assessed themselves as meeting the criteria and are working with eSafety. Platforms that don’t take reasonable steps face fines of up to $49.5 million, and the government has proposed doubling the maximum for systemic breaches. eSafety stresses that its list isn’t a fixed or final one. A formal ruling on whether a service is covered is ultimately a matter for the courts, and the list can change. Check the eSafety website for the latest version.

What the Ban Doesn’t Cover

A service is only age-restricted if social interaction is its sole or significant purpose. In late 2025, eSafety told these services it considers them not covered:

• Messaging: WhatsApp and Messenger
• Gaming and community: Discord, Roblox, Steam and Steam Chat, LEGO Play
• Video for kids: YouTube Kids
• School and coding: Google Classroom and GitHub

The eSafety Commissioner has been clear that an exemption “does not mean a platform is absolutely safe.” Some of the apps on that list, such as Discord and Roblox, are exactly where parents have the most questions about strangers, private chats and grooming. Our article on how grooming works on social media explains why private messaging is where the risk usually concentrates.

Beyond the exempt list, there are three bigger gaps that no account-age law is designed to close:

• Logged-out viewing. The law stops under-16s holding accounts. Much of what’s on these platforms, including many YouTube videos, can still be watched in a browser without signing in.
• The rest of the internet. Adult sites, offshore gambling, anonymous chat rooms and scam sites aren’t social media, so they’re outside the scope of this law.
• AI chatbots. Companion chatbots and “nudify” apps are spreading quickly among teens and aren’t covered by the minimum age. We cover them in AI Chatbots and Nudify Apps.

These are exactly the gaps ShomerDNS was built for. It doesn’t care which app is open or whether anyone is signed in. If a site is blocked, it doesn’t load.

What the First Months Have Shown

By mid-December 2025, the age-restricted platforms had removed access to around 4.7 million accounts belonging to Australians under 16. That’s a big number, but eSafety itself warned it was too early to call it full compliance.

The three-month evaluation tells a more mixed story. The share of under-16s holding an account on a restricted platform fell from about 52% to 42%. But the share using those platforms at all only fell from about 86% to 81%. In March, eSafety flagged weak age checks, including platforms letting users simply retry a failed check or revise a self-declared age. Many kids lost their accounts but kept watching, or found a way back in.

Platforms are still working out their age checks. You don’t have to wait for them. Protect your home with ShomerDNS today →

Keep the Conversation Going

No law or filter replaces a child who understands why the limits exist. eSafety’s guides for parents are a good, practical starting point, and include advice on talking to kids about the age restrictions.

It’s also worth being clear about what ShomerDNS is not. It doesn’t check anyone’s age, and it doesn’t read messages or record browsing history. It simply declines to look up the services you’ve chosen to keep out. In keeping with Kavod HaBriyot, it’s a filter, not a surveillance tool.

For the wider picture, including the EU and US laws now following Australia’s lead, read Social Media Bans for Kids: Why the Law Alone Won’t Protect Your Child.