{"id":94161,"date":"2025-12-12T15:40:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T15:40:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/facebook-tiktok-and-instagram-ban-proposed-in-south-africa"},"modified":"2025-12-12T16:52:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T16:52:35","slug":"facebook-tiktok-and-instagram-ban-proposed-in-south-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/facebook-tiktok-and-instagram-ban-proposed-in-south-africa","title":{"rendered":"Facebook TikTok and Instagram Ban Proposed in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>Australia has become the first country to ban children under 16 from using social media, and experts say it\u2019s a major change that South Africa should now consider seriously.<\/p>\n

From 10 December, ten major platforms, including TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, and X, were ordered to block underage users or face fines of more than R550 million.<\/p>\n

The law change has been welcomed by child-safety groups and many parents, but strongly criticised by big tech companies and free-speech advocates.<\/p>\n

Even so, governments worldwide, including South Africa\u2019s, are now watching closely. South African social media lawyer Lerato Ntwampe said Australia\u2019s decision is \u201cabsolutely\u201d something South Africa should be looking at.<\/p>\n

She noted that discussions with local regulators have already begun. \u201cWe want immediate action and policy intervention to prioritise child safety across all social media platforms operating in South Africa,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For Ntwampe, one of Australia\u2019s most important decisions is that parents will not be punished. \u201cThere will be no penalties for parents,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there will certainly be penalties and pressure for social media companies that don\u2019t do their part.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ntwampe believes South Africa would need its own version of the policy, but could still learn from the Australian model.<\/p>\n

She argued that platforms already have the technology to verify ages properly, but do not use it because they profit from young users. Children are being pulled into environments built to keep them online.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir information gets data mined, they\u2019re sucked in with these addictive algorithms, and they have mental health issues because of what they see.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that children cannot fully understand the \u201ccontractual relationship\u201d they enter when they create accounts and hand over their personal data.<\/p>\n

Some critics say bans like Australia\u2019s will push children into more dangerous online spaces, but Ntwampe argued that this is not a reason to do nothing.<\/p>\n

Social media companies face massive fines<\/b><\/p>\n

Children already bypass restrictions using VPNs and fake accounts. However, she said that when young people are placed in environments with fewer phones, their behaviour changes quickly.<\/p>\n

Kate Farina, Head of Strategy at Smartphone Free Childhood South Africa, added that Australia\u2019s decision is a global turning point.<\/p>\n

\u201cAustralia enacting a world-first ban on social media for users aged under 16\u201d means millions of teens have suddenly been removed from platforms they use daily.<\/p>\n

From today, she noted that major platforms that fail to delete under-16 accounts and stop new ones from being created face fines of up to A$49.5 million (over R550 million).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re now seeing government say enough is enough, we\u2019re going to force you to put on these protections.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her view, responsibility should lie with tech companies, not parents or children. \u201cParents, educators, and NGOs have been asking for safety controls for over a decade,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Farina believes South Africa should now seriously consider a similar move. The EU is preparing to follow Australia, the US has been debating the issue, and she said South Africa should be taking note.<\/p>\n

Children in this country often get smartphones even earlier than those overseas, and parents are often too busy or overwhelmed to monitor online activity.<\/p>\n

She admitted that a ban will not stop every workaround, but it will start an important cultural shift and encourage children to live more of their lives offline again.<\/p>\n

She stressed her organisation is not anti-technology. Basic phones still allow parents to communicate with their children without exposing them to harmful online spaces.<\/p>\n

Farina said the problem is giving an internet-connected smartphone to a child who is too young to deal with what they may encounter.<\/p>\n

For this reason, Smartphone Free Childhood SA recommends delaying smartphones until high school and delaying social media until at least 16.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. Australia has become the first country to ban children under 16 from using social media, and experts say it\u2019s a major change that South Africa should now consider seriously. From 10 December, ten major platforms, including TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, and X, were ordered to block underage users or face […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":94160,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[275],"class_list":["post-94161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nFacebook TikTok and Instagram Ban Proposed in South Africa - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Australia has become the first country to ban children under 16 from using social media, and experts say it\u2019s a major ch ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/facebook-tiktok-and-instagram-ban-proposed-in-south-africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Facebook TikTok and Instagram Ban Proposed in South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Australia has become the first country to ban children under 16 from using social media, and experts say it\u2019s a major ch ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/facebook-tiktok-and-instagram-ban-proposed-in-south-africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"South Africa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-12T15:40:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-12T16:52:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/12\/sm_1765545451.006757.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"576\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/facebook-tiktok-and-instagram-ban-proposed-in-south-africa#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/facebook-tiktok-and-instagram-ban-proposed-in-south-africa\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Facebook TikTok and Instagram Ban Proposed in South Africa\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-12T15:40:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-12T16:52:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/facebook-tiktok-and-instagram-ban-proposed-in-south-africa\"},\"wordCount\":646,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/facebook-tiktok-and-instagram-ban-proposed-in-south-africa#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/sites\/31\/2025\/12\/sm_1765545451.006757.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"South-Africa\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/facebook-tiktok-and-instagram-ban-proposed-in-south-africa#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/facebook-tiktok-and-instagram-ban-proposed-in-south-africa\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/facebook-tiktok-and-instagram-ban-proposed-in-south-africa\",\"name\":\"Facebook TikTok and Instagram Ban Proposed in South Africa - 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