carlhendrick.substack.com/p/the-problem-with-banning-social-media
2 corrections found
Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and seven other major platforms.
Australia’s age-restriction list was 10 major platforms in total, not 11. After the four named here, there were six others, not seven.
Full reasoning
The official Australian eSafety list published ahead of the 10 December 2025 start date named 10 age-restricted services, not 11. The list was: Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X, and YouTube. The University of Chicago working paper cited in the article says the same thing: the law applied to “ten major social platforms.”
So the article’s wording is off by one. If four platforms are named explicitly (Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok), there were six other major platforms on the official list, not seven.
2 sources
- Which social media platforms are age-restricted? | eSafety Commissioner
On 21 November 2025, we published a list of 10 services that we considered would likely be age-restricted social media platforms... Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube.
- Why Bans Fail: Tipping Points and Australia’s Social Media Ban
The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024... sets a mandatory minimum age of 16 for holding an account on ten major social platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Threads, X, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, and Kick.
91 percent of unbanned 16–18-year-olds in Australia
The cited working paper gives 87.1% for Australian 16–18-year-olds as a group. The 91% figure is only for 18-year-olds, not the full 16–18 cohort.
Full reasoning
This sentence misstates the paper’s own number. The working paper reports that past-week use was 87.1% among unbanned Australian 16–18-year-olds. It then breaks that group down by age: 81% at age 16, 87% at age 17, and 91% at age 18.
So 91% is not the figure for Australian 16–18-year-olds overall; it is the figure for 18-year-olds alone. The paper’s stated average for the whole 16–18 group is 87.1%.
2 sources
- Why Bans Fail: Tipping Points and Australia’s Social Media Ban
The corresponding rate is 87.1% among unbanned Australian 16–18-year-olds... Among unbanned Australians, use rises with age (81% at 16, 87% at 17, 91% at 18), so 87.1%—the 16–18 average...
- Why Bans Fail: Tipping Points and Australia’s Social Media Ban
The dashed reference line marks the unbanned Australian 16–18-year-old average (87.1%), the counterfactual against which the implied compliance rate of 27% in the body is computed.