Just weeks before Australia’s social media ban for users under 16 takes effect, the country’s watchdog, eSafety, has added Twitch to the list of banned platforms.
Pinterest, however, was excluded, in line with Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age (SMMA) rules.
Twitch will no longer allow Australians under 16 to create accounts starting December 10, a Twitch spokesperson told TechCrunch. Existing accounts for users under 16 will be deactivated on January 9. Globally, Twitch is open to users 13 and older, and anyone under the legal age of adulthood in their region must have a parent or guardian involved, the spokesperson said.
Pinterest did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Australia’s eSafety stated that Twitch is categorized as an “age-restricted social media platform” because the service is built around online social interaction and engagement features like live-streaming. Pinterest, on the other hand, is mainly used for collecting images and ideas, so it isn’t included in the age-restricted rules.
Australia has said its underage social media ban, which will go into effect on December 10, will apply to Meta‘s Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X, YouTube (except YouTube Kids and Google Classroom), Reddit, and the local streaming service, Kick. These platforms will be required to block account access for users under 16, according to a statement by the internet regulator.
About a year ago, Australia passed a law banning social media use for children under 16. At the time, major tech companies like Google and Meta called on the government to delay enforcement until the country finished its age-verification trial.
Techcrunch event Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector. Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector. San Francisco | WAITLIST NOW
The regulator provides a self-assessment tool to help platforms determine if they must follow the SMMA rules.
Other countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., are taking similar steps to control who sees what content on the Internet, though their approaches differ. Twenty-four U.S. states have so far enacted age-verification laws as of August 2025. Utah became the first to require app stores to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent for minors downloading apps.
... continue reading