eSmart COHR
Limiting Social Media to ages 16+
This is the latest information for families from alannah & madeliene foundation - eSmart
What is happening and when?
From 10 December 2025, social media platforms must take ‘reasonable steps’ to deactivate accounts held by children under 16 and prevent them from opening new accounts.
Which platforms will be affected?
- No final list has been released yet, but the Australian Government has confirmed age restrictions will apply to platforms including Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, X/Twitter and YouTube.
- Children under 16 can still use YouTube Kids and view regular YouTube without a login account. Viewing it without a login account limits the platform's functionality and may reduce exposure to age-inappropriate content.
- Age restrictions are not intended to apply to most gaming or messaging services and will not apply to email, video calling, health and education technologies, or professional networking apps.
- A ‘social media platform’ is defined as one which focuses on enabling social connection and allows users to post and interact.
What’s the background?
In December 2024, the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 amended Australia’s Online Safety Act to introduce social media age restrictions for children under 16.
The aim was to delay children’s exposure to social media risks and to give them more time to develop digital literacy and maturity.
Will children under 16 be breaking the law if they use social media after 10 December?
No. Children, parents, carers and teachers will not face legal penalties.
The responsibility lies with social media platforms to enforce age limits. If they are found to have failed to take ‘reasonable steps’ to do this, they may face substantial fines.
What will happen to children’s existing content?
So far, it is unclear what will happen to children’s existing posts or chats when accounts are deactivated. However, the eSafety Commissioner has flagged (in the last section titled “Conclusion: Placing the flags in the sand”) that parents may wish to help children download their archives and profile content now.
Won’t under-16s get around the age limit?
At present, there are few details available about how the age limit will be enforced. The Government acknowledges that some children may bypass the limit and that not every child’s account will disappear immediately. However, they maintain that the age restriction will provide a new layer of intervention and will signal what the community considers acceptable.
How can platforms tell a child’s age?
At present, we don’t know what tools will be used to identify children aged under 16.
It is possible tools may check birthdates from documentation, estimate age from appearance or behaviour, infer age from other information (e.g. how long an account has been held for), or use parental controls.
An independent trial run by the Age Check Certification Scheme found that effective technical solutions to age assurance do exist and are viable, although none are foolproof. eSafety will provide guidance to platforms on suitable approaches. How social media platforms will choose to respond to all this remains to be seen.
Are there privacy concerns?
While age limits may help child safety, concerns exist about how age assurance technologies might handle personal data.
Privacy risks might be reduced by a ‘tokenised, double-blind’ approach, where a digital token confirms the user's age without revealing their personal details to the social media platform. We wait to see whether this will be implemented.
The Government has confirmed that platforms may only request official ID documents from users if they also offer a reasonable alternative approach, and that personal data collected for age assurance must not be used beyond what is permitted by the Australian Privacy Principles.
These assurances are positive, but rigorous regulation and enforcement will be key.
How can adults help children prepare?
- Make sure children understand accurately what’s happening.
- Reassure children that if anything bad happens on social media, they should seek help. They will not have ‘broken the law’ by using social media.
- If children are worried, help them identify what they’ve enjoyed on social media – e.g. friendship, entertainment – and how they might find such experiences elsewhere.
- Recognise that some children may move deeper into gaming, messaging apps, or AI chatbots, all of which have risks. Check game ratings and app reviews, choose high privacy settings, and read about the dangers of AI ‘companions’.
- Report any cyber bullying to the platform or eSafety. For further support, consult a healthcare provider, Kids Helpline, Dolly’s Dream Support Line, or a parent helpline.
Inform & Empower - Years 1/2, 3/4, 5/6 have held their webinars for this term. Parents, you may like to discussed with them their learning?
Parent Tip sheets are attached to assist with family discussions. The Prep one is coming beginning of November!
eSmart Family Online Storytime session.
We are excited to invite families to a special Family Storytime event on Wednesday 3rd December 2025 & Parents Thursday 13th November. Families can register for this with the link below.
Parenting in the digital world
Parenting in the digital world has many challenges. Join this session to understand your child's online world and how you can support them to stay safe.
Resources related to parent and carer events will be sent to registrants only.
Date: Thursday 13 November, 2025
Time: 5.30 pm (AEDT)
Duration: 45 min
Family Storytime - Seesaw - Digital Child
Join us for an exciting live Storytime adventure! The last thing RB1 the robot expected when she walked into the living room was for her robot-sister Mandy to be missing! After all, they spent every afternoon together enjoying the thrilling adventures of Tasmania on the TV. Now, RB1 must not only embark on an adventure of her own to find Mandy, but she must also learn to branch out and try new things. Suitable for children from 4 – 9 years of age.
Parent resources will be sent 72 hours prior to the event.
Written by Florence Forrest-Jarman & Kim Maslin. Illustrated by Phoebe Zeng.
Date: Wednesday 3 December, 2025
Time: 7:00 PM (AEDT)
Duration: 30 min
