Research
Existing age minimums are widely ignored — roughly 40% of U.S. children aged 8–12 use social media despite formal bans — and the 13-year threshold was set to minimize COPPA compliance costs, not to reflect developmental evidence, while platforms collectively earned $11 billion in U.S. ad revenue from minors in 2022, creating powerful incentives against meaningful enforcement. The core scientific dispute is whether social media causally harms adolescent mental health: Haidt and Twenge cite doubled teen depression rates and dose-response patterns, while longitudinal research from Norway finds increased social media use correlated with *more* offline friendship time, and systematic reviews describe associations as "weak and inconsistent" — a genuine methodological disagreement, not a settled question. Jurisdictions are now racing toward stricter age verification and outright bans (Australia's under-16 law took effect December 2025), but the key unresolved tension is whether age gates address the right problem: civil liberties groups warn they normalize biometric surveillance and exclude marginalized youth, structural critics argue they leave surveillance-capitalism business models intact, and market-oriented and parental-choice perspectives — notably underrepresented in the underlying research — would likely contest whether government bans outperform platform self-regulation and family autonomy.
As of 10 December 2025, age-restricted social media platforms need to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under the age of 16 from creating or ...
To submit an appeal: 1. Open the notification in the TikTok app. 2. Tap Appeal to begin the appeal process. 3. Follow the instructions provided.
The minimum age to use Instagram varies by region. Most countries and states require you to be at least 13 years old to use Instagram.
You can restrict your child to a more limited set of videos in YouTube Kids by turning off the Search feature. With the Search feature turned off, your child ...
This initiative aims to allow EU users to prove they are old enough to access legally age restricted sites, starting with being over 18 years of age.
Sites like Spotify are also requiring users to submit face scans to third-party digital identity company Yoti to access content labelled 18+.
A tiered model envisages that children under the age of ten have no access to social media, children between ten and thirteen interact in ...
We're continuing to strengthen our underage enforcement measures by using AI to remove people under 13 from our services.
As countries move to tighten social media age limits, new OECD analysis reveals widespread gaps in age assurance practices and highlights the risks younger ...
Globally, one in seven 10-19-year-olds experiences a mental disorder, accounting for 15% of the global burden of disease in this age group.
As of August 2025, 13 U.S. states have passed laws restricting children's access to social media with more on the way. While these laws may seem ...
Addresses the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information about children collected from children through websites or other online services.
Age verification will require all platforms and/or third-party identification service providers to collect an enormous trove of sensitive data ...
The Court ruled that “no person—adult or child—has a First Amendment right to access speech that is obscene to minors without first submitting ...
COPPA imposes certain requirements on operators of websites or online services directed to children under 13 years of age.
Roughly half of teens (48%) say these sites have a mostly negative effect on people their age, up from 32% in 2022. But fewer (14%) think they ...
YouGov poll finding that 77% of Australians supported the law at the time of its passage. However, it's unclear how enforcement might affect ...
Studies indicate that adolescents who spend significant time on social media are more likely to experience negative mental health outcomes, including decreased ...
Meta uses artificial intelligence to detect underage account holders based on account activity and linked profiles. 5 Additionally, both Meta's Instagram and ...
This paper examines the effectiveness of age verification measures implemented on leading platforms Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and X. We ...
Addressing loneliness and isolation is crucial to fighting the youth mental health crisis.
This essay will propose a general approach, informed by the law & economics tradition, to assess when and how social media should be regulated.
A decades-old law which says that sites like Facebook and Twitter cannot be held responsible for the content of users' posts on their platforms.
We found that social media may support the mental health and well-being of LGBTQ youths through peer connection, identity management, and social support.
Chart shows majorities across parties say social media sites likely censor political views, but conservative. Larger shares in both parties ...
In the United States, age verification laws for social media are ostensibly designed to limit young people's access to content deemed problematic such as ...
In this article, we examine Australia's landmark decision to ban social media access for children under the age of 16, set to take effect in December 2025.
Improved Mental Health through Social Connection. Social media can help adolescents maintain and build new social connections with peers. Focus ...
The overall debate surrounding Section 230 is embedded with issues of social media liability, free expression, and content moderation. Both ...
In recent years, policymakers across various jurisdictions have proposed restricting or banning minors' access to social media platforms.
Eight states have enacted laws banning minors from social media or requiring parental consent. Nebraska recently passed one of the strictest ...
State laws on consent and privacy for adolescents are highly variable, and many do not reflect pediatric professional standards of care. This ...
Online sources of information are often hidden or even fabricated, and children do not have access to the past records of accuracy and reliability for those ...
It upheld an age verification law protecting children from pornography on the internet in a blow to the adult entertainment industry. For the ...
In this article, we examine the digital divide in the USA and discuss why it is a social justice and human rights issue.
There are also operational challenges. Age verification technologies raise privacy questions and compliance costs. Platforms face significant ...
Please note that this content was published several years ago and some of the information may not be updated. For up-to-date information on election reform, ...
This study found no benefits from a temporary social media reduction on mental health outcomes.
Age verification typically involves confirming user age through government-issued ID checks, selfie or photo upload analysis, biometric methods, ...
Discord has gone teen-by-default with mandatory age verification. Snapchat Family Centre has added Place Alerts. Meta now alerts UK parents if ...
The Danish government announced on Friday a national minimum age requirement of 15 years for “certain” social media platforms.
The European Commission has a problem. Individual member states are moving toward social media bans for minors at different ages, ...
Social media is a leading driver of poor youth mental health. Numerous studies show that the more children and teens use social media, the higher their risk of ...
Several countries have passed—and many others are considering—restrictions or bans on teens accessing social media platforms.
This addiction is driven by a combination of psychological factors, such as low self-esteem and mental health issues, technological mechanisms ...
Across the OECD, the number of countries considering age restrictions on social media use is growing, and quickly. At the end of 2023, only one ...
“First amendment scholars are arguing that [a ban] threatens free expression and access to ideas,” she says. “Montana passed a law in 2023 ...
Abstract. Background. Despite rising internet use in Canada, older adults continue to face significant barriers in adopting and using digital technologies.
It explores and describes the current evidence on the positive and negative impacts of social media on children and adolescents, some of the primary areas for ...
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