Global social media bans for teens spark call for rigorous impact research

Australia became the first country in December 2025 to prohibit social media use for anyone under 16, and Indonesia quickly followed with a similar restriction. The European Union has taken a slightly different route, banning social media for children under 13 and limiting personal accounts for those under 15.

In the United States, Meta agreed to a settlement that could cost up to $18 billion to resolve claims that Facebook and Instagram have harmed children. As part of the deal, the company will roll out "safety by design" features, including hiding the number of likes on posts for younger users.

The author, a mental‑health researcher at Wellcome, argues that these sweeping policy changes present a rare opportunity for independent studies to assess how social‑media regulation affects teenagers' mental health, wellbeing, and social lives.