The bill\u2019s lead author recently told The National News Desk that his social media \u201cage-gating\u201d bill was significantly modeled after the Australian law.<\/p>\n
There are, however, key differences in the California law compared to Australia\u2019s broader under-16 account restriction.<\/p>\n
The California law targets so-called addictive features that have become part and parcel of social media apps: algorithms, infinite scroll, autoplay and notifications. The new California law requires social media platforms to delete the accounts of children under 16 if they can\u2019t offer them a version free of the addictive features, as defined. Failure to do so could result in financial civil penalties.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we feel like we really truly found that secret spot,\u201d Lowenthal previously said. \u201cInstead of putting the onus on children and families, we’re putting the onus on the platforms themselves. They should not and cannot offer harmful and addictive features until children have the developmental ability to handle that. And we’ve determined that to be the age of 16. And we provide a pathway for them to be good actors by removing those features for young people. And as long as they do so, then children can continue to be in that ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lowenthal also said the California bill was designed to serve as a blueprint for other states to adopt.<\/p>\n
So, what can California and other states learn from Australia\u2019s experience?<\/p>\n
The Pew Research Center said Thursday that its survey found 82% of Australian adults support restricting access<\/a> to social media for kids. That survey was conducted in March and April, several months after the Australian restrictions went into effect<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, another team of researchers surveyed Australian teens and found little compliance<\/a> with the new social media restrictions.<\/p>\n Six months into the ban, the researchers found that over 90% of surveyed teens had used a restricted platform within the previous week.<\/p>\n The researchers estimated that just about 6% of Australian 14- and 15-year-olds were honoring the social media restrictions as of June.<\/p>\n The researchers found that the ban was easily circumvented, and kids saw the social costs of keeping off the platforms as too high when their friends kept using them.<\/p>\n Photo by Roni Bintang\/Getty Images, file<\/p>\n The researchers found widely known and easily accessible workarounds \u2013 entering a false birthdate at signup, lying about age on verification prompts, using a parent\u2019s or older sibling\u2019s account, routing traffic through a virtual private network \u2013 let kids keep using social media platforms.<\/p>\n \u201cThe law can build a 10-foot fence, and someone will build an 11-foot ladder and get around whatever these laws are when it comes to restricting people by age,\u201d said another social media expert, Andrew Selepak<\/a> of the University of Florida.<\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791005898_628_3c7f49d3-03ed-4296-92f3-3c9030040512-GettyImages2187649450.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791005899_369_1235576d-6e76-4bd5-958b-c603552f0cda-GettyImages19776402321.jpg\")
<\/p>\n