Since 2023, many countries and subdivisions across the globe have passed or proposed laws to require age verification for parts of the internet, including social media services, social networks, devices, and other digital services with the intention of protecting young people from harmful and illegal content. Most of the passed laws or bills have the age verification process done through handing over a government-issued ID, a facial scan or credit card over in order to prove that they are not underage, with the process done with third-party age verification providers. These laws and proposals vary greatly, with some of them restricting access only to certain features or distinguishing between different users online, which could lead to companies requiring age verification to comply with such restrictions as the Kids Online Safety Act, or banning users under a certain age, which is the approach of the Online Safety Amendment in Australia which fully prohibits anyone under 16 years old from holding social media accounts. A few nations, such as Pakistan, have proposed punishing those who allow minors to access these services. These laws have received criticism and backlash from the general public, organizations that focus on digital and civil rights (such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation) for normalizing mass surveillance and restricting freedom of speech through the elimination of anonymous accounts. The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights and UNICEF have opposed these laws on grounds that such laws may backfire, constitute violations of freedom of speech and privacy rights, and because there are better ways of protecting children online. These laws have also been bypassed by technologies such as VPNs, which have seen a significant amount of new users in countries where such laws are enforced. While these laws typically only apply in their respective countries, some online platforms have made their age verification policies global, such as Roblox and Discord, which require age verification for certain features to close said loopholes to avoid receiving a lawsuit. Opponents of these laws also claim that this is one of the newest forms of Internet censorship. Even though these laws being mainly used for requiring social media services to verify the age of their users, critics believe that these laws would silently expand beyond the internet and create a realm of digital censorship, with devices, apps, games, and websites being required to age verify their users with intrusive methods such as with a facial scan or the presentation of a government ID as a result of mission creep. Despite recent backlash over Internet censorship, there have been no physical protests in cities regarding age verification. Critics worry that media outlets such as BBC and CNN will silence these views. On 6 August 2026, Texas man Joseph Roy Ozment became the first person to be arrested for using voicemail to threaten the Texas Governor's Office for age verification on Crunchyroll in Texas.
Background There were attempts to enact online age verification laws before Australia's social media ban, such as the UK's Digital Economy Act 2017, which was passed on 27 April 2017 (but later went unenforced), South Korea's shutdown law (which was passed in 2011 and repealed in 2021), and Australia's Online Safety Act 2021 (where age verification was planned but later scrapped), failed due to free speech concerns, large protests and outcry. On 26 October 2023, the UK's Online Safety Act was passed and went into effect on 25 July 2025. In 2024, The Anxious Generation was published by Jonathan Haidt, this book then became the catalyst for Australia's Online Safety Amendment (which bans social media use for individuals under 16). As a result of these laws and proposals, age verification laws subsequently began being introduced in other countries. Legislation regarding social media age verification at the state level began in March 2023, when Utah passed the Utah Social Media Regulation Act (which was challenged due to First Amendment concerns, and has not taken effect).
Laws about social media age restrictions Many of the laws regarding social media age verification revolve around setting a minimum age to have an account on social media platforms, with the youngest proposed minimum age set at 12 by Trinidad and Tobago (cf. the minimum age of the COPPA law from the United States, which is 13) and the oldest being 18 set by Zimbabwe. Neither of these examples gives an exception with parental consent, with most countries (such as the UAE, Turkey and Greece) setting the minimum age at either 15 or (in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Spain) at 16. Some of the proposed or passed laws that set a minimum age for social media allow exceptions with parental consent, such as those in Brazil (set minimum age of 16 with parental consent exception), Denmark (set minimum age of 15, parental consent from 13), Portugal and the European Union (set minimum age of 16 with parental consent from 13).
Countries and subdivisions with laws in effect
Australia
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