Australia on Tuesday became the first country to ban children under 16 from using major social-media platforms, imposing penalties of up to 33 million dollars (A$49.5 million) on companies that fail to comply, a move watched closely by governments considering similar curbs.

The rules, which took effect nationwide, require platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube, and Reddit to block underage users from opening or maintaining accounts. Several companies have said they will adhere to the law despite raising concerns about its scope and technical feasibility. Attempting to create an under-16 account now triggers an automatic error message on affected platforms.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the measure “a profound reform that will reverberate around the world in the coming months,” according to Bloomberg.

The push reflects a growing global backlash against Big Tech’s influence on children, mirroring debates in the United States and Europe over harmful content, data practices, and mental-health risks. Reuters has reported that policymakers in Indonesia, Denmark, and Brazil are also weighing or drafting legislation designed to restrict minors’ access to social-media apps and curb cyberbullying.

Australia’s law, passed last year, forces companies such as ByteDance Ltd. and Snap Inc. to introduce age-verification systems, delete underage accounts, and demonstrate compliance to regulators or face steep fines.

Not every service is covered. Discord, which falls outside the scope of the ban, said Tuesday it would roll out additional safety tools for Australian users, including stricter content filters and enhanced moderation features.

Early indicators suggest some Australian teenagers are already migrating to apps not directly regulated under the new rules or to smaller platforms that have not yet been targeted by enforcement.

Whether the ban will meaningfully reduce online harm or simply shift young users elsewhere is expected to remain a central question as other countries study Australia’s experiment in real time.