For years, parents have been told that keeping children safe on social media is mainly their responsibility: set limits, check devices and keep difficult conversations open. But governments are beginning to acknowledge that families cannot carry that burden alone.

Australia now requires covered platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent children under 16 from creating or keeping social-media accounts. In July 2026, France approved similar restrictions for children under 15, while several other governments are developing their own approaches.

This shift matters because it places responsibility not only on families, but also on the platforms designed to hold children's attention. Yet a legal age limit cannot decide when a particular child is ready, teach them what is wise to share or build the trust that helps them speak up when something goes wrong.

So what can these laws realistically achieve—and what still has to happen at home?

What these laws actually do — and do not do

It helps to be precise, because the headlines blur very different things together.

A restriction on holding a social-media account is not a ban on the internet. France has approved restrictions that, once in force, will stop under-15s from keeping social-media accounts; it does not cut a child off from the web, schoolwork, messaging family, or educational resources. Australia's law targets named platforms — including Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, X and Facebook — rather than the whole internet. Online encyclopedias and educational directories are explicitly outside France's ban.

Age-verification obligations sit on platforms, not on parents. In both countries, the legal duty to check age falls on the companies. Parents are not fined; children are not criminalised. Australia's law allows courts to impose corporate penalties of up to A$54.6 million when a covered platform fails to take reasonable steps to prevent underage accounts, but it does not penalise children, parents or carers.

Proposals are not yet law. Spain's under-16 plan (announced February 2026), Norway's bill (to be presented by the end of 2026), the United Kingdom's under-16 plan from Spring 2027, and the European Commission's proposed "social media delay" are at various stages of consultation and drafting. France's own law may face a constitutional review that could delay its full rollout.

Distinguishing enacted law from announcement matters. A headline that a country "is banning social media" often means a government has said it intends to, not that anything has changed in your home today.

Two countries, two cautionary lessons

Australia went first. Its under-16 rules took effect on 10 December 2025. The eSafety Commissioner reported that platforms removed access to around 4.7 million under-16 accounts by mid-December 2025 — a striking number. Yet by March 2026, the same regulator found that roughly seven in ten children who had an account before the ban still had "some access." A July 2026 study by researchers who had advised the government's rollout found that, across 50 test accounts, platforms sought no age proof at all. One of those researchers described the ban as having "failed" technically, while still showing that a ban "can be done."

France has watched Australia closely. Its law rolls out in two stages: from September 2026, under-15s cannot open new accounts and age verification is required on new accounts; from January 2027, the rule extends to existing accounts, meaning everyone in France will need to prove they are over 15. French critics — including lawmakers and child-safety groups — have raised real concerns: privacy, the reliability of age checks, and the risk of pushing young people into less-regulated corners of the internet.

The honest takeaway is twofold. These laws are a genuine signal that governments no longer trust platforms to self-regulate around children. And they are imperfect, unevenly enforced, and no substitute for parenting.

A risk worth naming

When a popular platform becomes harder to reach, some children may move to smaller, less-moderated apps, private group chats or services designed to avoid ordinary safeguards. Closing one door can sometimes push activity towards another that parents know even less about.

This is not an argument against regulation. It is a reason to keep communication with your child stronger than any platform's rules. A child who feels safe telling you where they spend time online is generally better protected than one who believes they must hide it.

Where Responsibility Actually Sits

The clearest way to read these laws is as a rebalancing. For years, the conversation placed almost all the responsibility on parents: watch their apps, check their screens, read their messages. That was never fair, and it was never enough. Now governments are asking platforms to carry a share of the load — to verify age, to remove accounts, to face fines if they do not.

Think of it as four layers:

  1. Platforms must design responsibly, apply age checks honestly and carry a fair share of the safety burden.
  2. Parents provide guidance, example, conversation and boundaries.
  3. As children mature, they gradually learn self-control and responsibility before Allah, themselves and others.
  4. Laws can strengthen platform responsibility, but families and communities cultivate wisdom and character.

A platform can stop a ten-year-old opening an account. It cannot teach that same child, four years later, what is worth posting, what is cruel to share, and when to put the phone down for Salah. That is the work of tarbiyah — the gradual, patient upbringing that shapes how a young person behaves when no adult is watching.

Consider what a law does not touch:

  • Why a child wanted the account in the first place
  • What they post, share or watch once they have access
  • How they treat other people in comments and group chats
  • Whether they come to you when something goes wrong
  • How they handle boredom, comparison, and the pull of infinite scrolling

These are some of the questions that shape how safely and responsibly a child learns to navigate life online.

A social-media readiness framework for your home

Rather than waiting for a government deadline, you can build readiness around your own child's maturity — not their age alone.

Before the first account, agree together on:

  • Which app, and why. One platform is enough to begin with.
  • What is shareable (hobbies, school events) and what is not (location, photos of others, private struggles).
  • Who they may connect with — real people they know, not strangers.
  • What to do when something feels wrong: tell a parent, without fear of losing the phone instantly.
  • When the phone sleeps — and that it does not sleep in the bedroom.

Revisit the agreement as they grow. A thirteen-year-old's first account is not a sixteen-year-old's last word. Plan to add privileges gradually, tied to demonstrated responsibility rather than to a birthday. This mirrors how we already teach children to cross roads, cook, or handle money — a little at a time, with oversight, then independence.

If you want a starting point for the device itself, a written family agreement helps. We will share a full first-smartphone agreement later in this series; for now, the points above are enough to begin.

What you can do this week

  • Talk before you restrict. A surprise rule breeds secrecy; a conversation builds trust. For guidance on having that talk, see our guide on How to Talk to Your Children About Online Safety: An Islamic Guide.
  • Set one boundary you can hold consistently, rather than five you cannot. Consistency teaches more than severity.
  • Keep devices out of bedrooms overnight. This simple change can support better sleep and reduce many of the risks associated with unsupervised late-night access.
  • Model what you ask of them. If adults scroll through meals and Salah, children notice the gap between the rule and the example.
  • Note your country's position, but do not wait for it. The protections you establish at home remain essential, whatever the law says.

What this could look like in your home

Your twelve-year-old asks for Instagram because "everyone has it." Instead of a flat no or a helpless yes, you say: "Not yet — but let's get ready." You pick a messaging app you both trust so they can stay in touch with family. You agree that in a year you will revisit social media together, and that earning it means showing you can put the phone down for Salah, meals and sleep without a fight.

A year later, you sit down together, choose one platform, set the overnight charging spot, and check in weekly for the first month. The account is a privilege tied to responsibility, not a right granted on a birthday.

This reflects a familiar principle in Islamic parenting: responsibility grows gradually with maturity.

A short checklist

  • Know your country's social-media age rules (enacted vs proposed)
  • Delay the first account until your child is genuinely ready, not just old enough
  • Agree the "where it sleeps" rule before the account exists
  • Choose one platform to start, not several
  • Talk about what to do if something goes wrong
  • Revisit the agreement every few months
  • Model the habits you expect

A balanced view

Governments raising the digital age is, on balance, a good thing for children. It shifts a little of the burden off families and onto the platforms that profit from children's attention. But it is a floor, not a ceiling. The ceiling — the kind of person your child becomes online — is still set at home, through amanah, patience, and example.

Technology cannot replace conversation, trust and tarbiyah. It can, however, help families apply their chosen boundaries more consistently. Fitra Guard's Home Wi-Fi Protection helps block harmful content across devices connected to the protected home network, while Complete Family Protection adds child profiles and routines for bedtime, homework and Salah. The aim is not to monitor every moment, but to make the family's agreed boundaries easier to maintain.

Sources & further reading · 6 references

Last reviewed: 27 July 2026. Laws and regulatory developments may change; see the linked sources for updates.