# What the World Should Learn from Australia’s Social Media Law.

1 Opinion July 18, 2026By Jonathan Haidt

TIME Magazine ![bsp_headshot_haidt.jpg](/sites/default/files/styles/246w/public/2025-12/bsp_headshot_haidt.jpg?itok=oCuKOKG3)Australia’s new social media law took effect on Dec. 10, 2025, raising the age to open or maintain social media accounts to 16. It was a global first. The law called for the biggest social media platforms to do more than just ask for a birthdate. Now, they would be legally required to take responsibility for verifying and enforcing an age minimum.

Half a year on, the world is watching closely. Are the restrictions working?

Some critics and media outlets have prematurely concluded that the policy has failed. They point to early surveys showing that under-16 social media use has fallen only partially, and that most kids are still accessing social media. And they argue that age limits will never work, that these laws miss the real problem of harmful platform design, and that the countries considering following Australia—of which there are many—should reconsider.

Read the full [*TIME* article](https://time.com/article/2026/07/18/the-world-should-learn-from-australia-s-social-media-law/).
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*Jonathan Haidt is the Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership.*

## More from Jonathan Haidt

- [Why the World Is Drawing a Line on Social Media for Kids.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/index%2ephp/experience-stern/faculty-research/why-world-drawing-line-social-media-kids)
- [Universities Can’t Pursue Truth Without Viewpoint Diversity.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/index%2ephp/experience-stern/faculty-research/universities-cant-pursue-truth-without-viewpoint-diversity)
- [What Kids Told Us About How to Get Them Off Their Phones.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/index%2ephp/experience-stern/faculty-research/what-kids-told-us-about-how-get-them-their-phones)
- [We Don’t Have to Give In to the Smartphones.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/index%2ephp/experience-stern/faculty-research/we-dont-have-give-smartphones)
- [Gen Z Has Regrets.](https://www.stern.nyu.edu/index%2ephp/experience-stern/faculty-research/gen-z-has-regrets)