As Australia introduces its ban on under-16s accessing social media — including YouTube — we examine the emergence of the age-restricted internet in countries around the world. They’re supposed to protect kids from online harms, but do the restrictions actually work? And what effects do age verification measures such as AI-powered facial scanning have on adults?

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Tech Gets Real is a show about staying in control in a time of rapid technological change. I'm veteran tech journalist David Meyer, and I've been covering topics like online privacy and freedom for two decades.

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REFERENCES:

Australian regulators say the world will follow https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-says-world-will-follow-social-media-ban-meta-starts-blocking-teens-2025-12-04/

Teens can get around facial age estimation tools https://www.crikey.com.au/2025/12/04/social-media-ban-parents-help-teens/

Wikipedia loses its challenge against the UK’s Online Safety Act https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cjr11qqvvwlo

UK regulator suggests age-restricting VPNs https://www.theverge.com/tech/827435/uk-vpn-restrictions-ban-online-safety-act

KOSA remains controversial in the US https://www.theverge.com/policy/837123/house-energy-commerce-kids-online-safety-package-hearing

Adult websites need age verification across most of the US https://www.404media.co/missouri-age-verification-law-porn-id-check-vpns/