On 10 December 2025, Australia became the first country to require social media platforms to take reasonable steps to stop children under 16 from having accounts. Much of the debate before that date was about whether it could work at all. The regulator's own publications since then give a more useful picture: what happened, what did not, and why.
What happened first
In January 2026, the eSafety Commissioner reported that major platforms had removed access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children under 16 in the first half of December. eSafety described the results as preliminary and said it was too early to say whether platforms were fully complying.
The obligation falls on platforms that meet the legal criteria for age-restricted social media. In November 2025 eSafety published its view that ten services were likely covered: Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X and YouTube. It considered that others, including Discord, Messenger, Roblox, Steam, WhatsApp and YouTube Kids, were likely not. Platforms must assess themselves, and eSafety says it cannot list every service that qualifies.
Then: enforcement
On 31 March 2026, eSafety published its first compliance report. The Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, wrote that it set out "significant concerns" about the compliance of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, and announced a move "from a compliance monitoring to an enforcement stance". Civil penalties can reach A$49.5 million. She also noted that enforcement needs evidence that will stand up in court, and that this takes time.
What the first months suggest
Age assurance is the weak point. A minimum age is only as strong as the way a platform decides who is under it. Accounts that slip through are usually a sign of weak or easily bypassed age checks, not of a law that cannot work. The Australian experience moves the argument from "should there be an age limit" to "what counts as reasonable steps to check age", which is where regulators in other countries are heading too.
Numbers removed are not harm prevented. 4.7 million accounts is a large figure, but it measures accounts, not children, and says nothing yet about wellbeing. eSafety has said the real effects will take years to show and is running a long-term evaluation with an independent academic advisory group.
It is one tool among several. The Commissioner places the minimum age alongside Australia's complaint schemes for cyberbullying and image-based abuse, its industry codes on illegal content, and a planned Digital Duty of Care. A delay on accounts does not protect a child on the services left outside it. Messaging apps and gaming platforms such as WhatsApp, Discord and Roblox are not covered, and the risks families worry about most, from grooming to sextortion, do not respect that line.
For families in Australia
If your child had an account removed, talk about where they are spending time online now; messaging apps and games are not covered by the minimum age. Children in Australia can contact Kids Helpline at any time, and serious online abuse can be reported to eSafety. See our Australia help page.
