As governments grapple with the growing turbulence of the digital world, the European Parliament and Australia are moving in parallel, though distinct, directions to shield minors from the risks of social media, AI tools, and addictive online design.
On Wednesday, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) adopted a sweeping non-binding report calling for stronger safeguards for children online, including a harmonised EU digital minimum age of 16 for social media, video-sharing platforms, and AI companions. The move comes just as Australia prepares to activate its own world-first ban prohibiting anyone under 16 from holding an account on major social media platforms starting 10th December.
EU seeks unified age threshold and tougher industry accountability
Backed by 483 votes in favour and shaped by mounting concern over minors’ physical and mental wellbeing online, the Parliament’s recommendations urge substantial reform from platforms and regulators alike.
MEPs propose setting 16 as the minimum EU-wide age for accessing social networks and AI-driven digital companions, while still allowing 13- to 16-year-olds online with parental consent. Age-assurance systems, they stress, must be accurate, privacy-preserving and cannot replace the responsibility of platforms to ensure their products are safe “by design”.
To bolster compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA), lawmakers also suggest exploring personal liability for senior tech executives in cases of serious and repeated violations, particularly those affecting minors.
The report goes further, urging bans on a range of manipulative and addictive digital practices aimed at young users, from infinite scrolling and autoplay to reward loops and harmful gamification. Engagement-based recommendation systems for minors would also be prohibited.
Loot boxes, in-app fortune wheels, pay-to-progress features, randomised gaming mechanics and AI-powered nudity apps are targeted as well, alongside calls for stricter enforcement against influencer marketing aimed at children and “kidfluencing” monetisation schemes.
Australia implements harder model: Full account deactivation for under-16s
While Europe leans toward harmonisation and platform accountability, Australia is enforcing a far more rigid model: complete removal of under-16s from mainstream social platforms.
From 10th December, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch and Kick will be required to deactivate all existing accounts held by users under 16. Failure to take “reasonable steps” to prevent access could land platforms fines of up to A$49.5 million.
Some services, such as YouTube Kids, Google Classroom, LinkedIn and Pinterest, are exempt. But the approved list may expand as regulators monitor where minors migrate next.
Age verification systems will be left to each platform to design. The government requires that ID checks cannot be the only method used, complicating the process as companies scramble to develop multi-layered age-assurance tools.
Some platforms have begun outlining their plans:
- Meta will offer teens the ability to download their data and freeze their accounts until they turn 16.
- TikTok will allow content archiving and account deactivation or deletion.
- Snapchat plans a “frozen state” for under-16 accounts, affecting an estimated 440,000 Australian users.
Other major platforms have yet to reveal their procedures.
Two approaches, one concern
The EU’s system focuses on tightening platform design, restricting harmful features, improving age assurance and reinforcing regulatory frameworks. Australia, meanwhile, is opting for a blunt but definitive model: remove all minors from mainstream social media altogether.
Both efforts spring from a shared anxiety – that digital spaces, shaped by algorithms and attention-harvesting design, increasingly outpace parents’ ability to manage their children’s online exposure.
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