‘Hi North Korea’: Australian teens are about to go back to the 1990s as the country bans social media for under-16s

Social media has become a massive part of humanity’s everyday existence, with people using various platforms to showcase their lives, share opinions, and even have a good old-fashioned rant. But teens in Australia will have to brace themselves for life without it as government officials plan to sign a ban into law very soon.

According to Sky News, the legislation set out by Aussie senators will ban children under 16 years old from using social media. The law states that social platforms will have to implement strict age-verification methods. Each site will have to pay hefty fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($32.5 million) if they don’t work to prevent underage kids from creating social profiles.

Since the law will only take effect in Nov. 2025, social media companies have about a year to figure out how to implement the ban. Many took to social media to share their thoughts on the legislation with X user @Woodstameister likening the move to something a dictatorship country like North Korea would do.

While the ban might seem a little extreme at first glance, the reasoning behind it makes sense. Social media is not suitable for kids who are too young to understand that most things that appear online are glossed-over versions of reality. Other things to consider are instances of online bullying and grooming, which leads kids to do unimaginable things. And finally, the misinformation that has become synonymous with social media sites like the Elon Musk-owned X could really do a number on children who may not be able to separate fake news from facts. So, while it might be fun to rage against the ban online, people with kids in their lives might welcome the move.

In September, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government plans to test the age verification technology before signing anything into law. While Australia’s House of Representatives still needs to endorse the amendments, they are not expected to block the law since the government, in its entirety, has already decided that the legislation is good to go.

According to the Sky News report, politicians in the U.K. are thinking about implementing a similar ban. The country’s science secretary, Peter Kyle, previously told the publication that regulator Ofcom needed to be “more assertive” regarding the “grotesque” behavior on social media since it has caused teenagers to lose their lives in some instances.

“I don’t want to go to things like blanket bans because I want people to benefit from all of the opportunities presented by modern technology,” Kyle explained. “But where there are harms, I will keep everything on the table when it comes to keeping people safe.” For its part, Meta has willingly implemented a minimum age of 13 usage rule on its platforms to empower teens and their parents “instead of just cutting off access.”