Australia adds Reddit and Kick to 16 plus platforms list

The Australian government has added Reddit and livestreaming platform Kick to the list of services that will be restricted to users aged 16 and over, with the rules set to take effect on December 10. Communications Minister Anika Wells and the eSafety Commission said the move brings the total of age‑restricted platforms to eight, joining Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube and X, and that companies that fail to stop under‑16s creating or using accounts could face penalties of up to A$49.5 million.

Under the legislation passed in late 2024, regulators assess whether a service’s sole or significant purpose is to enable online social interaction. eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said assessors used those legislative criteria rather than a harms or risk based approach. She told reporters, "This is not a safety, a harms or risk based assessment. These were criteria for assessment contained in the legislative rules." She also said the restrictions aim to delay children’s exposure to algorithm‑driven content feeds and give them time to "learn and grow offline."

Minister Wells framed the policy as an effort to protect young people from targeted algorithms, saying there...