In Australia, where the world's first law banning the use of social media by people under the age of 16 was enacted , authorities have asked several companies to self-evaluate whether they fall under the category of banned platforms. Social media age restrictions | eSafety Commissioner https://www.esafety.gov.au/about-us/industry-regulation/social-media-age-restrictions Australia asks GitHub if it's a dangerous social network • The Register https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/25/australia_social_media_ban_github/ In November 2024, Australia passed a law banning the use of social media by anyone under the age of 16. Australia enacts world's first law banning the use of social media by people under the age of 16, targeting X, TikTok, Instagram, etc. but excluding YouTube - GIGAZINE Under the law, unless exempted under criteria set out by the Minister for Communications, platforms that meet the following three conditions will be required to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under the age of 16 from creating or maintaining accounts from 10 December 2025: 1: The sole or essential purpose of the service is to enable online social interaction between two or more users. 2: The service allows users to interact with some or all of the other users. 3: The service allows users to post content on the service. Although no specific services were named, the Australian cybersecurity regulator, the eSafety Commission , which is responsible for the regulation, said the law is likely to apply to X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Snapcat. The eSafety Committee has requested that multiple platforms identify themselves as 'social networking sites that put children at risk.' The companies and organizations requested to be identified are:・Meta(Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp)・Snap (Snapchat)・TikTok・YouTube・X Roblox・Pinterest・Discord・Lego Play・Reddit・Kick・GitHub・HubApp・Match・Steam・Twitch The Register, a news site, pointed out that GitHub is not intended for social interaction, so it may not be subject to the law. However, it points out that it is possible to host content that is harmful or offensive to children, and that developers can comment on each other. It also points out that since the service can be used without logging in, it cannot keep minors away from harmful or offensive content.

The eSafety Committee has requested that multiple platforms identify themselves as ‘social networking sites that put children at risk.’ The companies and organizations requested to be identified are:

・Meta(Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) ・Snap (Snapchat) ・TikTok ・YouTube ・X Roblox ・Pinterest ・Discord ・Lego Play ・Reddit ・Kick ・GitHub ・HubApp ・Match ・Steam ・Twitch

  • t3rmit3@beehaw.org
    12·
    8 days ago

    Ah yes, all the kids chatting in the PR comments as they merge more porn into their git repos.

    Clearly Australia has some savvy folks in charge.

    (Hint: it’s actually in order to restrict access to code and tools to bypass censorship)

    • fistac0rpse@fedia.io
      5·
      7 days ago

      I hate this whole social media ban, but this is a self assessment to determine if they are a social media platform which probably won’t apply to GitHub. From The Register -

      "At first glance, GitHub will not have to deny service to Australians under 16 years of age, because the criteria that require a platform to do so are:

      Having the sole, or a significant purpose, of enabling online social interaction between two or more end-users;
Allowing users to link to, or interact with, other end-users;
Allowing users to post material on the service;
Hosting material that is accessible to, or delivered to, end-users in Australia"

      And anyway, the ban only applies to logged in accounts, so you can still visit sites without being logged in without restrictions. At least, initially. The whole thing is such a waste of time and money.