The countries that have social media bans, or are planning to implement one

Ever since Australia banned its young people from social media, governments across the globe have been considering following suit.

It comes amid mounting concerns over the impact of social media on children's health and safety. It's been four months since under-16s in Australia were banned from using platforms including Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram.

While only one other country has since implemented a straight blanket ban, many have taken steps to regulate online platforms. Here is a summary of which countries already have rules in place for social media, as well as those proposing a stricter ban.

Australia Australia's landmark law came into force on 10 December 2025. It forced 10 major social media platforms to block young people under 16 or face fines of up to AU$49.5m (£25m).

Australia's eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the restrictions "aim to protect young Australians from pressures and risks that users can be exposed to while logged in to social media accounts". She added: "These come from design features that encourage them to spend more time on screens, while also serving up content that can harm their health and wellbeing." EuropeFrance At the beginning of the year France's National Assembly (the lower house) approved legislation to ban children under the age of 15 from social media amid growing concerns about online bullying and mental health risks.

On 31 March the bill was then passed by the Senate (the upper house) making France the first European country to follow Australia. It would be a step further to legislation that has been in place since 2018 that bans children from using mobile phones in French colleges, which are attended by young people aged 11-15.

The parliamentary process however is far from complete. The French bill is due to go back to the Assembly for a final vote but a disagreement between the upper and lower house remains.

The government is advocating a broad ban while the Senate wants to make it conditional on the publication of a list of platforms deemed dangerous for children. There is also no timeframe for when the ban could actually come into force.

Britain A social media ban for under-16s has been backed by the House of Lords in the UK. Peers passed an amendment to the government's Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill - a wide-ranging set of law proposals currently making its way through parliament.

At the beginning of March the government launched a consultation asking the British public how they want to protect young people online. In addition to blocking younger teenagers from apps like TikTok and Instagram, measures including overnight social media curfews, restrictions to "addictive" features like infinite scrolling and autoplay, and blocks to stop children from using chatbots are also being considered.

Some of these elements will be tested in a trial period, the government announced on 25 March. This will involve 300 teenagers and aim to gauge the impact on children's sleep, family life and schoolwork.

Austria Austria's three-party government announced on 27 March it will ban social media for children up to the age of 14. Vice chancellor Andreas Babler and junior digitisation minister Alexander Proell said draft legislation for the law would be finalised by June.

Mr Proell said "technically modern methods" of age verification will be used that allow users to verify their age while respecting their privacy. The Austrian government plans to accompany the ban with an effort to boost schools' teaching of how to use media and deal with artificial intelligence.

However, before the law is even implemented, it will need parliamentary approval. Spain Spain's prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, pledged in February that he would introduce an under-16 social media ban.

Mr Sanchez called social media the digital "Wild West.