Australia bans social media for under 16s. What impact does the law have on young people, artists and music promotion?
From December 10, 2025, networks such as Instagram, TikTok and Co. will be banned in Australia for young people under the age of 16. The government wants to protect young people. Whether social media is actually dangerous remains scientifically controversial. It is also still unclear what consequences the ban could have on the music industry.
Too young for social media?
There has also been a heated debate in Europe for a long time about whether there should be a ban on social media for children and young people under the age of 16. In Australia this is now a reality by law. As of Wednesday, December 10th, the Online Safety Amendment Bill officially came into force. This means that all social media platforms such as TikTok or Snapchat are taboo for under 16 year olds. The law was passed a year ago. The government justified the move by saying it wanted to protect young people from cyberbullying, sexualized chats and confrontation with age-inappropriate content.
Effectiveness is scientifically vague
Although there is evidence-based knowledge, there are no empirical studies on the topic. The actual effectiveness of a ban is therefore still scientifically controversial. Scientists at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute now want to conduct a study to find out whether the use of social media can cause or worsen psychological problems in young people.
However, international studies have already shown connections between the use of social media and depression, anxiety and sleep disorders in young people.
How is the ban implemented?
All major platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat are affected by the ban. YouTube is also affected. According to the law, the ban must be implemented by the platforms themselves. One possible procedure could be to involve a third-party provider who checks users’ faces and IDs. Users who are identified as too young would then be blocked or deleted from the platforms. Meta has already announced that it only wants to block accounts until their 16th birthday instead of deleting them.
If young people under 16 still have access to the platforms, the tech companies will be punished. There is then a risk of fines of up to 30.5 million euros. The Australian way is so far unique.
Possible consequences for the music industry
As is well known, artists and the industry largely promote new music via social media. So what consequences could the ban have? The first consequence of such a ban can be a limited reach for artists. Specifically, the restriction causes reduced promotion and lower visibility for young and new artists. Based on this, marketing strategies could change and the industry would have to look for new ways to reach certain target groups – for example via classic media.
There could also be changes in fan engagement, as direct fan loyalty becomes more difficult due to less interaction. TikTok culture is also affected: music influencers would be significantly restricted, and many viral music trends could fail to materialize. It remains to be seen whether the ban will have concrete consequences for the industry and how it will deal with it.