Which countries have banned social media for kids now?

Australia kicked off the global wave in December 2025, and Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia, and Turkey have since locked in their own kid social media limits. The UK, Canada, France, and several EU states are racing to follow. Here's which countries have banned—or are banning—underage accounts, and what each rule actually requires.

A decade ago, most platforms treated 13 as the soft floor and largely left enforcement to a birthday checkbox. In 2025 and 2026, governments flipped that script: minimum ages of 14, 15, or 16, mandatory age checks, and fines aimed at the companies rather than the kids. For a wider look at how digital life keeps reinventing itself, browse our Nostalgia: Then & Now hub.

Key Takeaways

• Australia passed the first under-16 social media ban in December 2025; a July 2026 study already called it ineffective so far.
• Malaysia, Brazil, Indonesia, and Turkey have moved from talk into binding rules with age checks and account limits.
• The UK, Canada, France, Greece, Spain, and others are advancing bans or tight parental controls, mostly aimed at under-15s or under-16s.
• Governments cite mental health, cyberbullying, exploitation, and “addictive” design—while critics warn about privacy and workarounds.
• Kids are already testing loopholes, and platforms from TikTok to YouTube sit in the compliance crosshairs.

Which countries have banned social media for kids already?

Not every headline is a finished law. According to Mashable’s country-by-country rundown, Australia set the precedent in December 2025 with the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act. Platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, X, and Snapchat must take “reasonable steps” to keep under-16s from creating accounts.

Malaysia followed with the Online Safety Act 2025. It took force on January 1, 2026, and ramped up on June 1, 2026, requiring age verification and blocking under-16s on services with at least eight million users—think YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook. Companies also have to curb features that stretch time on apps.

Brazil’s Digital Statute of Children and Adolescents arrived in March 2026. Under-16s must link accounts to a legal guardian, adult content needs age checks, and platforms must limit tools that artificially extend scrolling sessions, including autoplay.

Indonesia announced an under-16 ban on March 6, 2026. Officials said accounts on “high risk” platforms—YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox—would be deactivated for under-16s by the end of that month.

Turkey passed a bill on April 23, 2026, blocking under-15s, with age verification, faster responses to harmful content, and expanded parental controls, per Associated Press reporting cited in Mashable’s list.

Which countries are next to ban underage social media?

France is poised to become the first European country to enact a national ban for under-15s after a July 20, 2026 compromise. New under-15 accounts would be blocked from September 1, with existing accounts covered from January 2027, according to Le Monde reporting summarized by Mashable.

The United Kingdom confirmed an under-16 ban plan on June 15, 2026, saying it intends to mirror Australia’s model and possibly widen it to livestreaming and gaming. Overnight curfews for 16- and 17-year-olds and limits on infinite scroll are also under discussion.

Canada announced the Safe Social Media Act on June 11, 2026, aiming to bar under-16 accounts, mandate age checks, and extend safety rules to AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude—not only TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.

Austria floated an under-14 ban in March 2026, with a draft expected by summer, plus a school subject called “Media and Democracy.” Denmark’s prime minister flagged an under-15 ban in October 2025, possibly arriving in 2026, with reports that parents might allow access from 13. Greece proposed an under-15 ban on April 8, 2026, targeting a January 1, 2027 start. Poland and Slovenia sketched under-15 plans in February 2026. Spain announced an under-16 bill on February 3, 2026, still needing parliamentary passage, with executives potentially liable for illegal or harmful content.

At EU level, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on July 13, 2026, backed age-appropriate limits that could cover under-13s across social apps, AI companions, video platforms, and games. Germany is only considering a ban so far; Thailand is debating without a formal announcement.

Why are governments rushing these social media bans now?

Lawmakers point to child sexual exploitation, cyberbullying, self-harm, mental-health strain, violent content, pornography, and product design built to keep young users hooked. Age-verification systems and parental gates are the preferred tools, with big fines for platforms that drag their feet.

The pushback is just as loud. Privacy advocates worry about ID checks. Free-speech critics fear overblocking. And early evidence is messy: Australian government advisors concluded in July 2026 that the pioneering ban had been ineffective so far, Reddit is suing over Australia’s rules, and Mashable notes kids are already finding workarounds.

That tension—protect kids versus preserve open access—is why the map keeps changing month by month. What counted as a normal teen habit five years ago is suddenly a regulated activity in more capitals every quarter.

How do the age limits and rules actually differ?

Ages are not uniform. Austria’s draft aims at under-14s. Denmark, France, Greece, Poland, Slovenia, and Turkey cluster around under-15. Australia, Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, Malaysia, Spain, and the UK focus on under-16. An EU-wide approach could set a younger under-13 floor for some services.

Enforcement also varies. Some laws emphasize deactivating existing teen accounts; others prioritize blocking new sign-ups first. Brazil ties accounts to guardians. Malaysia thresholds by platform scale. Canada folds AI chatbots into the same safety frame. France stages the rollout—new accounts first, then legacy ones.

For parents and teens, the practical takeaway is simple: “allowed on Instagram at 13” is no longer a global default. Whether a country has banned, is about to ban, or is still drafting, the direction of travel is toward harder age gates and platform liability. Watch the statute, not just the speech—because which countries have banned kids from social feeds is still a moving list.