SYDNEY: Australia banned young teenagers from social media on Wednesday, launching a world-first crackdown designed to unglue children from addictive scrolling on the likes of Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

A raft of the world’s most popular apps and websites face US$33 million fines if they fail to purge Australia-based users younger than 16.

Australia becomes one of the first nations to so forcefully push back against tech titans wielding immense political power. The government says unprecedented measures are needed to protect children from “predatory algorithms” filling phone screens with bullying, sex, and violence.

“Too often, social media isn’t social at all,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said ahead of the ban.

“Instead, it’s used as a weapon for bullies, a platform for peer pressure, a driver of anxiety, a vehicle for scammers and, worst of all, a tool for online predators.”

Published in Dawn, December 10th, 2025