Over the months, many countries have announced plans to restrict social media access for children and teens. Australia became the first to implement such measures at the end of last year, setting a precedent that other countries are now closely watching. 

Australia’s regulations, along with other countries’ proposals, aim to reduce the pressures and risks that young users may face on social media, which include cyberbullying, addiction, mental health issues, and exposure to predators. 

Of course, there are concerns about privacy regarding invasive age verification and excessive government intervention. Critics, including Amnesty Tech, have said such bans are ineffective and that they ignore the realities of younger generations. Despite this, many nations are moving ahead with proposed legislation. 

We’ve compiled a list of countries that are considering or have already moved forward with bans on social media for young users.

Australia

Australia became the world’s first country to ban social media for children under 16 in December 2025. The ban blocks children from using Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit, Twitch, and Kick. It notably doesn’t include WhatsApp or YouTube Kids. 

The Australian government has said these social media companies must take steps to keep children off their services. Companies that fail to comply may face penalties of up to $49.5 million AUD ($34.4 million USD).

The government says these platforms should use multiple verification methods to ensure that people using their services are older than 16. It also notes that they can’t rely on users simply entering their own age. 

Austria

Austria said in late March that it will ban social media for children up to the age of 14. Draft legislation for the ban is expected to be finalized by June.

Canada

The Canadian government introduced a digital safety bill in June that would ban social media for children under 16. Under the legislation, social media giants could sidestep the ban if they demonstrate they have policies to protect young users. Officials have said it could take a year for the bill to pass.

Denmark

Denmark is set to ban social media platforms for children under 15. The Danish government announced in November 2025 that it had secured support for the ban from three governing coalition parties and two opposition parties in parliament.

The government’s plans could become law as soon as mid-2026, according to the Associated Press. The Danish digital affairs ministry is also launching a “digital evidence” app that includes age verification tools that may be used as part of the ban.

France

In late January, French lawmakers passed a bill that would ban social media for kids under 15. President Emmanuel Macron has supported the measure as a way to protect children from excessive screen time. 

The bill still has to get through the country’s Senate before a final vote in the lower house.

Germany

In early February, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives discussed a proposal to bar children under 16 from using social media, Reuters reported. However, there were signs that his center-left coalition partners were hesitant to support an outright ban.

Greece

Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced in April that the country is going to ban access to social media for children under 15 starting January 2027. Mitsotakis says the move is aimed at tackling rising anxiety and sleep problems among children, as well as the addictive design of social media.

Indonesia

Indonesia said in early March that it’s banning children under the age of 16 from using social media and other popular online platforms. The country plans to start with platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live, and Roblox.

Malaysia 

The Malaysian government said in November 2025 that it plans to ban social media for children under 16. The country plans to implement the ban this year. 

Poland

Poland’s ruling party is drafting new legislation that would ban children under 15 from using social media, Bloomberg reported in February.

Slovenia

Slovenia is drafting legislation to prohibit children under 15 from accessing social media, the country’s deputy prime minister announced in early February. The government wants to regulate social networks where content is shared, citing platforms such as TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram.

Spain

Spain’s prime minister announced in early February that the country plans to ban social media for children under the age of 16. The ban still needs parliamentary approval. The Spanish government is also seeking to create a law that would make social media executives personally accountable for hate speech on their platforms.

Turkey

The Turkish parliament in April passed a bill to restrict social media access for children under 15. Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan must now accept the bill for it to pass into law.

UK

The United Kingdom is weighing a ban on social media for children under 16. The government says it will consult parents, young people, and civil society for their views to determine whether a ban would be effective. 

It will also consider whether to require social media companies to limit or remove features that drive compulsive use, such as endless scrolling.

This story was originally published in February 2026 and is updated regularly with new information.

Anthropic is expanding Project Glasswing, its joint industry initiative to find and fix critical software vulnerabilities using AI, to about 150 new organizations across more than 15 countries, the company said Tuesday. 

The news comes a day after Anthropic said it had filed confidentially for an initial public offering, following a $65 billion funding round at a nearly $1 trillion valuation. 

Anthropic’s Claude Mythos is at the heart of Project Glasswing. The AI firm dubbed the model its most powerful yet, able to identify thousands of zero-day vulnerabilities over several weeks.  In early April, Anthropic gave 50 initial partners, including the U.S. government, access to Claude Mythos Preview to scan their codebases for vulnerabilities and security flaws. 

The expanded list of organizations with access to Mythos as of today covers power, water, healthcare, communications, and hardware — industries that weren’t “well-represented” in Anthropic’s initial cohort, the company said. Many who will now have access are companies or nonprofits that maintain codebases which other organizations and governments rely upon, Anthropic noted in a blog post.

“What each partner has in common is that a successful attack on their codebase could be catastrophic,” the company said. “For most partners, we estimate that a major attack could affect more than 100 million people, with important ramifications for both global and national security.”

The expanded group includes organizations in countries friendly to the U.S., including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, India, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea, according to The Financial Times, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The FT also reported several organizations that have been given access to Mythos, including: U.S.-based identity and security management tool Okta; South Korean companies Samsung, SK Hynix, and SK Telecom; NATO, the U.S.-led military alliance headquartered in Brussels; and the EU’s cyber security agency ENISA. 

TechCrunch has reached out to Anthropic to confirm. 

Anthropic has said it expects other AI companies to soon develop models as capable as Mythos Preview, which is why the firm is racing to establish safeguards within Project Glasswing. 

Since releasing Mythos, rival OpenAI released its own cybersecurity-focused model GPT-5.5-Cyber, which it has rolled out to a large group of partners for testing.