After social media ban for kids, Australia’s age-restrictions kick off: All details and what it means for young users

Australia’s sweeping set of age-restriction laws have kicked in as the country becomes one of the strictest in the world when it comes to protecting minors online. According to a report by news agency Reuters, Australians have been increase the rate of downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) even as one of the world's largest adult content distributors said it was blocking users ‌from its platforms.

After December 10 nationwide ban on teenagers using social media, a separate law that went into effect on Monday (March 9) which requires AI-powered chatbot services to block minors from accessing content including pornography, extreme violence, and material related to self-harm or eating disorders – or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (roughly $34.5 million).

What rules must TikTok follow to stay operational in Canada

Australia has also joined the UK, France and dozens of US states in requiring any website that hosts pornography to verify that users are over 18. On top of that, app stores must now run age checks before allowing anyone to download apps labelled 18+. E-Safety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said that the changes as simply catching the digital world up with real-world protections that have existed for decades.

“A child today can't walk into a bar and order a drink, they can't stroll into a strip club or browse an adult shop or sit down at a blackjack table in a casino. This just really brings those protections that we put for kids in place to the digital realm,” she was quoted as saying.

Australians rush to download VPN

On March 8, the eve of the deadline, Australian downloads of VPNs nearly tripled to 28,722, up from an average of around 10,000 per day the previous week, according to data from software analytics firm Apptopia (via Reuters). The report also notes that downloads had been rising steadily since March 3, averaging over 15,000 a day in the six days leading up to the cutoff. Daily VPN sessions also surged, peaking at 1.32 million on March 8.

Meanwhile, adult content sites are blocking australians

The report said that Aylo, the Canada-based company that owns multiple major pornography websites, has blocked Australian users from accessing RedTube and YouPorn entirely. Users visiting the sites from Australia were greeted with a banner stating the platforms were “not currently accepting new account registrations in your region.”

In a statement, Aylo said it had “restricted access to our platforms in a number of locations, including the UK, France, and a number of US states, due to ineffective and haphazard age verification laws”.