Adam Clark

Meta Platforms, Snap, and Reddit are feeling the impact of Australia's prohibition on social media for children, and now the United Kingdom and France are contemplating analogous measures.

Australia made history in December as the first nation to implement a social-media ban for individuals under 16, enforcing a law that compels ten major platforms to bar account creation for that age group. Meta's Facebook and Instagram, Snap's Snapchat, and Reddit were among the services mandated to adopt these restrictions.

This regulatory threat appears to be gaining international traction. Legislators in both the U.K. and France have advocated for similar actions, with their respective governments indicating a degree of support for imposing stricter controls on children's social-media usage.

"I believe stronger measures are necessary to safeguard our children. Consequently, we are exploring a variety of options, and no potential solution is being dismissed," stated U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer during a press conference on Monday.

Starmer's comments followed an open letter endorsed by 61 members of his ruling Labour Party, which called for a ban on social media access for under-16s modeled after Australia's. The previous week, Kemi Badenoch, leader of the opposition Conservative Party, pledged to introduce a similar ban for under-16s should her party win the upcoming election.

Concurrently, French President Emmanuel Macron has expressed support for prohibiting social media for users under 15, and a draft bill on the subject is currently under discussion in the French parliament.

Social media firms are actively contesting these potential dangers. Reddit has initiated a legal challenge against the ban in Australia's highest court, while Meta has publicly declared its opposition. Snap has contended that such a ban might inadvertently drive younger users toward "less safe" messaging applications.

Despite the opposition, the Australian government reports that social-media companies are adhering to the new law, having deactivated over 4.7 million accounts belonging to under-16s within days of the legislation taking effect on December 10. Meta has confirmed it removed close to 550,000 accounts between December 4 and 11.

In the United States, more than a dozen individual states have pursued various initiatives to limit children's social media use, with developments in Florida this year being closely monitored for their potential to set a nationwide precedent.

Florida is preparing to enforce a 2024 law that bans social media for children under 14 and requires parental consent for 14- and 15-year-olds, following an appeals court's decision to lift a temporary injunction late last year. However, technology industry groups, whose members include Google, Meta, and Snap, are continuing a federal lawsuit to challenge the law.