Australia’s efforts to crack down on social media use by teens will now include a ban on Amazon’s (AMZN) live-streaming service Twitch for anyone under 16 years old.
Beginning December 10, Twitch must deactivate all accounts for anyone under 16 or face a penalty of up to AUD$49.5 million ($32M) for failing to comply with Australia’s Online Safety Amendment Bill. According to the eSafety Commission, Twitch qualifies as a social media site as it is used for live-streaming and posting content between users.
Twitch (Twitch logo) 
The bill requires social media companies to take “reasonable steps” to prevent users under 16 from creating accounts. Platforms currently impacted by the new law include Facebook and Instagram (META), TikTok (TIKTOK), YouTube (GOOG), X, Snapchat (SNAP) Reddit (RDDT), Kick, and now Twitch (AMZN).
Notably excluded from the ban are Pinterest (PINS), Discord (DSCD), Roblox (RBLX), and Facebook Messenger (META). While these sites have been determined to not be under the category of “age-restricted social media platforms,” they should “routinely self-assess, including when introducing a new social feature or when existing and new account holders are using their service.”