<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Ubiquitous forum site Reddit and </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/australia" rel="" target="" title="Australian"><span>Australian</span></a><span> video streaming platform Kick have been added to the list of banned services under Australia's landmark incoming under-16 </span><a href="http://9news.com.au/social-media" rel="" target="" title="social media"><span>social media</span></a><span> ban.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Hugely popular gaming platform Roblox, which has been accused here and in the US of allowing sexual predators to victimise children, has been granted a reprieve, along with chat apps Messenger, WhatsApp and Discord, coding repository GitHun, YouTube Kids and some other services.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X and YouTube had already been classed as an "age-restricted social media platform" before the latest update issued last night.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/asio-boss-mike-burgess-says-three-countries-willing-to-try-to-kill-on-australia-soil-asio-chief-warns/5c376751-0ef5-4d5c-a1f1-0e55cc487f62"><strong><span>Three countries 'willing' to kill on Aussie soil</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The new list came with a warning that online platforms in general would be responsible for constantly self-assessing whether they meet the criteria, particularly whether their "sole or a significant purpose is to enable online social interaction".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Starting on December 10, platforms will be subject to fines of up to $49.5 million under the global-first restrictions if they fail to take "reasonable steps" to stop under-16s accessing their products.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said delaying access to social media gave children time to learn and grow "free of the powerful, unseen forces of harmful and deceptive design features such as opaque algorithms and endless scroll".</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/social-media-ban-under16s-will-be-blocked-from--reddit-but-not-roblox/00731b89-42dd-4624-acaf-a3dcaf0a68f0" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"But I've also said consistently that age restricting social media is one important tool in our holistic approach to online safety," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Ultimately, all online platforms should be building less harmful, age-appropriate experiences through safety by design. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Where they are not, we will apply the Online Safety Act's mandatory codes and standards and supplement with robust prevention and education resources for Australians."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/dick-cheney-death-influential-republican-vice-president-to-george-w-bush-dies-at-84/a728d1c7-e557-4b2f-8913-25c1b12fa8db"><strong><span>Dick Cheney, US vice president behind 'war on terror', dies at 84</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The full list of platforms eSafety has informed don't meet the social media definition is Discord, GitHub, LEGO Play, Roblox, Steam and Steam Chat, Google Classroom, Messenger, WhatsApp and YouTube Kids.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett last month warned </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/australia-federal-police-young-girls-targeted-by-young-men-online-like-video-game/da51b4f1-a53e-4069-9d6a-7298b700a144?fbclid=IwY2xjawN3GbhleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETBxQlBqaHZUQ0hsQ0xsYzZjAR45QyMScFJi-DDoTMwonVPLIjg69moLITAHdlxrhzjJqD54fQx03K0BVuWgYQ_aem_FXwHQPFanefeDuSzHfxajQ"><span>"crimefluencers" were targeting Australian girls online using Roblox and other platforms</span></a><span>. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill filed a lawsuit in August alleging Roblox had failed to implement effective safety measures to protect child users from adult predators, claiming they "thrive, unite, hunt and victimise kids" on the platform.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Twitch, which is similar to Kick – where a </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/french-streamer-dies-live-online-during-extreme-challenge/8662613a-1f68-43f0-8039-49797a51edbf" rel="" target="" title="French streamer died online in August during an extreme challenge"><span>French streamer died online in August during an extreme challenge</span></a><span> – but much larger, was not mentioned on either list. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Critics of the law have pointed to concerns children will be able to quickly get around the ban by spoofing their location with a virtual private network (VPN) or tricking whatever age-gating systems the platforms implement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Wells on Thursday said it was about showing parents "we have your back", describing the ban as a treatment plan rather than a cure.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Kids are going to be kids, they're going to try and get around this, it won't be perfect, but it is going to make a meaningful difference and that's really important," she told Fitzy and Wippa with Kate Ritchie on Nova radio. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Like you say, it's the first step. It will make a huge cultural change in this country. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/trent-merrin-former-nrl-star-alleged-fraud-charges/6b3ba774-d66a-4685-8347-cdbc947b805c" rel="" target="" title=""><strong><span>Ex-NRL star arrested at Barrack Point home</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And I think someone very wise who I saw on the floor of the UN said, this will not just change a law, it will change a generation."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Cardiff Metropolitan University senior lecturer in computing and ​information said Australia could learn from the UK's recent implementation of compulsory age verification for some website that there "will be ways to circumnavigate it".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I think the thing to know is that people will get around it, and you've got to have robust controls otherwise, you know, it's not as effective as it could be," he told 9news.com.au. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And they're right, you know, they're right to do this because of the harm that social media lands on young people."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Inman Grant said the transition would be "significant, especially for some young people" and urged parents, teachers and young people to visit the online hub at </span><a href="http://esafety.gov.au"><span>esafety.gov.au</span></a><span> for more information.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em></em><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f"><em><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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