Reddit and Kick Added to Australia’s Social Media Ban for Under 16s

‘This is a dynamic list and will always change,’ eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.

A photo of logos of major social media platforms and companies taken in Canberra, Australia, on Nov. 7, 2024. AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Reddit and Kick have been added to Australia’s social media ban for children and teenagers aged under 16, which will apply from Dec. 10.

They join Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, and YouTube.

Social media companies included in the ban could face fines of up to $50 million (US$32.7 million) if they do not take reasonable steps to prevent children under 16 from having a social media account.

Australia’s online safety regulator has also warned that its office will continually assess if platforms meet the definition of age-restricted social media.

“If they do meet the definition, they must take reasonable steps to ensure users under 16 do not hold an account,” she said.

Government and eSafety Defend Short Notice on Kick and Reddit

Communications Minister Anika Wells and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant held a press conference at parliament on Nov. 5 to provide more details on the social media ban.

Inman Grant defended the less than one month’s notice being provided to Kick and Reddit.

“We have had these conversations with these platforms for 12 months,” Inman Grant said.

Inman Grant revealed Kick had agreed to comply, while Reddit had already been deploying age assurance accounts.

Wells added, “The purpose of the press conference is we want to give clarity to parents.”

Inman Grant was also asked about Threads, to which she said, “You can’t access Threads without an Instagram account.”

Working With Social Media Companies to Stop VPNs

Inman Grant also revealed she’s been speaking to social media companies in Silicon Valley, California, about the potential for circumvention of the social media ban, including VPNs.

Onus will be on the platforms to stop this from taking place.

“We have extensive requirements we place back on the platforms themselves to prevent circumvention so location-based circumvention in terms of the use of VPNs,” Inman Grant told reporters.

“We know generative AI, a mask or graphics from platforms can be used to spoof AI or age-verification systems and we’ve given them very specific specifications as to how we think they should tackle and they’ve given us comfort that this is something that they can do and what they will do in these cases.”

The eSafety Commissioner also clarified that the social media ban list was “dynamic” and would “always change.”

eSafety has also been in contact with BlueSky and Yubo.

Inman Grant warned social media companies that being exempt did not mean they were completely free from scrutiny.

“Exemption does not mean a platform is absolutely safe,” she said.

Online Platforms Target Children with ‘Chilling Control’: Minister

Wells said online platforms could target children with “chilling control,” and they were mandating that they use that sophisticated technology to protect them.

“There’s a time and place for social media in Australia, but there’s not a place for predatory algorithms, harmful content and toxic popularity manipulating Australian children,” Wells said.

Greens Senator David Shoebridge raised concerns about more platforms being added to the ban at short notice.

“Just 35 days to the 10 December social media ban deadline and Labor announces two more platforms being roped in—they’re making it up on the fly—2.5 million young people are being disrespected and everyone’s privacy treated like a joke,” Shoebridge said on X.

Meanwhile, Shadow Communications Minister Melissa McIntosh warned there was a lot of pressure on the government in relation to the social media ban.

“There’s a lot of risk, because the world is now watching Australia for the success of this ban in getting kids offline and protecting children,” she told the ABC on Nov. 5.

McIntosh has previously raised concerns about the potential for digital ID to be used as part of the social media ban.

Guidelines issued by the eSafety commissioner confirm digital ID can be used by social media platforms, but is not allowed to be the only method available.