Countries Globally Implement Social Media Bans for Children

A global movement to restrict social media access for minors is expanding across Asia, Europe, and Oceania. Australia led this trend on December 10, 2025, by implementing a ban for children under 16 with corporate penalties reaching A$49.5 million. Other nations, including Brazil, Indonesia, and the Indian state of Karnataka, have since adopted varying measures ranging from parental consent requirements to account deactivations for those under 16.

On April 23, 2026, the Turkish parliament passed a bill banning children under 15 from social media. The legislation mandates age-verification systems and requires platforms to remove harmful content within one hour in urgent security cases. This move followed a school shooting in Kahramanmaraş where a 14-year-old killed ten people. Turkish Justice Minister Akın Gürlek further announced a forthcoming regulation requiring all citizens to verify their identity via the e-government portal to access social media. While President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described platforms as "cesspools," the opposition Republican People’s Party criticized the laws as prioritizing state surveillance over rights.

Similarly, Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre announced plans for a bill to prohibit social media accounts for children until the year they turn 16, with an expected 2027 effective date. Meanwhile, Malaysia is considering a "delay not ban" model for children under 16, placing existing accounts under parental supervision. Malaysian officials and psychologists emphasize that these regulations must be paired with digital literacy to effectively mitigate grooming and cyberbullying.