These platforms are currently exempt from the under-16s social media ban. But that could all change

The list of age-restricted social media platforms could grow even after Australia's under-16s social media ban comes into effect on December 10.

Even platforms that are are currently exempt from the ban could later be included.

Minister for Communications Anika Wells and eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant anticipate that under-16s will migrate to other platforms when their Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok accounts are deactivated next week.

READ MORE: Australia's world-first social media ban comes into effect this month. Here is what it will look like

Some will move to platforms that are exempt, like Discord and Messenger, but Wells and Inman Grant say they won't hesitate to age-restrict those platforms if necessary.

"We will be watching the migratory patterns, and we'll be talking to these companies," Inman Grant said.

"It's not going to be perfect, but the normative change in the mid-to long-term will be significant."

Wells singled out Lemon8, a photo and video-sharing social media platform Inman Grant described as an "Instagram clone".

Many US teens migrated to the platform when they briefly lost access to TikTok at the start of the year.

Lemon8 was developed by ByteDance, the same Chinese technology company behind TikTok.

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"If we find that because they've been locked out of Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, what have you, they end up on Lemon8, then we will look at whether the harm has transferred there and whether we need to add them to the list," Wells said.

"We'll have more to say about Lemon8 this week, so stay tuned."

What sites and apps are not included in Australia's social media ban?

Platforms currently exempt from the under-16s social media ban include:

• Discord
• GitHub
• Google Classroom
• LEGO Play
• Messenger
• Pinterest
• Roblox
• Steam and Steam Chat
• WhatsApp
• YouTube Kids
• LinkedIn

The eSafety Commissioner said that this list is not final and more platforms may be made exempt at a later date.

Why are these sites exempt?

These sites have been excluded from the age-based social media ban because they fall under one of several exempt classes.

They include:

• messaging
• email
• making calls
• online games
• education
• professional development
• health
• platforms that provide information about products or services

But platforms that are currently exempt are not guaranteed to stay that way.

Many platforms serve multiple purposes and the eSafety Commissioner will update the list of exempt and age-restricted platforms based on each platform's primary purpose.

That purpose may change as the ban comes into effect.

For example, online games that are currently exempt but allow social interaction through features like direct messaging and livestreaming may become age-restricted if the platform's primary purpose changes.

"LinkedIn is currently an exempt platform," the Minister for Communications said.

"If everybody ends up on LinkedIn, and LinkedIn becomes a place where there is online bullying, algorithms targeting 13- to 16-year-olds in a way that's deteriorating their mental and physical health, then we will go after LinkedIn, and that's why all platforms are on notice."

READ MORE: The apps Australian kids are switching to ahead of social media ban

What sites and apps are included in Australia's social media ban?

Social media platforms must meet four specific conditions to be age-restricted under the ban.

Those conditions are:

1. its sole or significant purpose is to enable online social interaction between two or more users
2. it allows users to link or interact with other users
3. it allows users to post material
4. material is accessible or delivered to users in Australia

Several platforms have already been classified as age-restricted and under-16s will be unable to access existing accounts or create new ones from December 10.

These age-restricted platforms include:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Snapchat
• TikTok
• X (formerly Twitter)
• YouTube
• Threads
• Reddit
• Kick
• Twitch

Additional platforms may become age-restricted after the ban comes into effect and under-16s migrate to other sites and services.

"We watched what American kids did when TikTok went blank," Inman Grant said.

"They went to Rednote, they went to Lemon8, which is an Instagram clone.

"We expected there will be some migration, and some of these will become age restricted social media platforms."

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