Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel has publicly criticized Australia’s under-16 social media ban, arguing it represents a flawed approach that will drive teenagers toward less secure alternatives. His comments come two months after the ban took effect on December 10, 2025, making Australia the first country to implement such comprehensive age restrictions.
Australia’s ban targets 10 major platforms including YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat, X, and Facebook, with companies facing fines up to $50 million for non-compliance. Snapchat removed or restricted 415,000 Australian teen accounts, a significant loss for the youth-focused platform.
Spiegel stated:
Compliance with the law does not guarantee that Australian teens will be safer or better off. It’s not yet possible to say for certain. But there are clear gaps that call into question the law’s efficacy and I believe the downsides are going to mount and become more visible over time.
He argues that age verification technology is highly imperfect. Teenagers have already circumvented it by creating new accounts and borrowing parental faces. Since the ban only restricts certain platforms, teens will migrate to less regulated alternatives rather than abandoning social media entirely.
Spiegel also noted that science supporting broad social media restrictions remains inconclusive, with research suggesting many teens benefit from social media for community building.
Rather than blanket bans, Spiegel advocates for digital literacy education and app store-level verification instead of platform-specific restrictions.
“App store-level verification would create one consistent age signal per device and would limit how often personal information must be shared, significantly reducing privacy risks,” he said.
Multiple countries including France, the United Kingdom, Malaysia, Germany, Italy, Greece, and Spain are considering similar bans, positioning Australia’s approach as a critical test case.
The debate continues over whether the ban truly protects children or simply displaces them to alternative platforms while raising privacy concerns through invasive age verification methods. While 70% of Australian voters endorse the ban, implementation challenges are already evident, suggesting that tech companies will continue advocating for alternative regulatory approaches in other countries.
