Young Australians believe children will easily circumvent the federal government's impending social media ban, and they suspect parents might be the ones to help them do it. From December 10, teenagers aged under 16 will be blocked from accessing major platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X, YouTube, and Reddit.
Students Predict Loopholes and Parental Help
While politicians and tech giants have dominated the debate on the world-leading legislation, 7NEWS spoke directly to 16 high school students for their perspective. One student candidly stated that kids will inevitably "find a way around" the new rules. Another pointed out a likely loophole: parental assistance.
"They will get their parents to actively use their own ID or use their own face to prove that the account is owned by an adult when rather it’s actually owned by the child," the student explained.
Communications Minister Anika Wells has stated that parents who help their children skirt the ban will not face punishment. Instead, the onus is on technology companies to implement robust age assurance technology. "This is about putting the responsibility back on the social media platforms who have been able to operate in a wild west for 20 years," Wells said.
Harmful Content and the Push for Protection
The Federal Government argues the minimum age laws are designed to shield young Australians from online harms. Companies that fail to take "reasonable steps" to prevent under-16s from using their platforms risk fines of up to $49.5 million.
One student shared a personal experience with harmful content, highlighting the risks. "For example, X. I’ve had a very bad experience on that platform because I’m seeing stuff I don’t want to see. I think I deleted it five minutes (after) installing it," they told 7NEWS host Michael Usher.
Another student discussed the impact on self-esteem, noting how easy it is for young users to compare themselves negatively to curated online personas. "And so they change their whole self just to fit in with the crowd and the trend," they said.
A Mixed Reaction and the Shift to New Platforms
Reaction among the students was divided. One believed the government made a "good choice" but noted that those most affected, children under 16, "didn’t really get a real say on it." Others defended the maturity of younger teens and highlighted the creative and self-discovery benefits of social media.
Minister Wells acknowledged that workarounds are expected, revealing that teens are already migrating to lesser-known apps like Yope and Lemon8. She framed the legislation as a necessary step to protect Generation Alpha from "predatory algorithms," which she described as "behavioural cocaine."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had listened to grieving parents and, while conceding the laws are not perfect, argued it is time to stand up to social media giants to curb bullying and save lives. Enforcement begins imminently, with Meta starting to remove children from Instagram and Facebook, and YouTube signing out under-16 users on December 10.
