A world-first social media ban took effect in Australia last week, restricting children younger than 16 from using platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok.
"Australia has become an international guinea pig for the people who want internet censorship," said Hon. John Ruddick, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.
More than 200,000 accounts were deactivated Wednesday after Australia's Online Safety Amendment went into effect.
"It's massive," he explained. "It's the only thing the country's talking about."
AUSTRALIA IMPLEMENTS FIRST-EVER YOUTH SOCIAL MEDIA BAN
The 10 social media giants included in the ban are Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, Snapchat, Kick, Reddit, Threads, Twitch and YouTube. By law, they are required to locate and deactivate accounts of Australian users under the age of 16.
"I have heard that every playground around Australia for months has been talking about censorship coming," Ruddick told Fox News Digital.
Children and parents won't be penalized for violating the ban, but social media companies face fines of up to $33 million if they don't take "reasonable steps" to remove underage users.
Many Aussie children, Ruddick said, are already finding ways to skirt the sweeping ban.
"They're getting around it through fake IDs, opening new apps - which you know are popping up - VPNs," he explained. "Kids are tech-savvy… This is what we predicted would happen."
Ruddick, alongside two Australian teenagers, is taking legal action over the ban, filing a constitutional challenge to Australia's High Court. Equivalent to the U.S. Supreme Court, the court can overturn laws it deems unconstitutional.
Ruddick told Fox News Digital he believes the social media ban violates young Australians' right to political communication.
"We're saying that this is breaching young kids' ability to engage in politics, and a lot of them will be voting within two years of turning the age of 16," he explained.
The Australian politician is the president of the Digital Freedom Project, a group launched to raise public awareness about the ban, which he calls a "dangerous violation" of free speech.
AUSTRALIA BEGINS ENFORCING SOCIAL MEDIA LAW BANNING CHILDREN UNDER 16 FROM MAJOR PLATFORMS
A judgment on their constitutional challenge is expected in March or April 2026.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the ban is about shielding children from the harmful effects of social media.
Albanese said Wednesday that the nation is taking a leading role in challenging major tech platforms and demanding accountability for how social media impacts children's well-being.
"It's a profound reform which will continue to reverberate around the world in coming months, to assist not just this generation, but generations to come," Albanese said.
The politician counters Albanese's argument, saying the ban will create the "worst of both worlds," with children turning to dangerous underground media platforms while parents let their guard down, assuming the ban is protecting them.
AFTER AUSTRALIA PASSES SOCIAL MEDIA BAN, LAWMAKERS PROBED ON WHY CONGRESS HASN'T DONE MORE TO PROTECT KIDS
Back in the U.S., lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are signaling an interest in tougher social media restrictions for young people following the Aussies' one-of-a-kind ban.
"I think we ought to look at what Australia's doing, for example, requiring access to these social media platforms to not be available to anybody under the age of 16," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said.
"I think protecting children is an avenue that should be pursued," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said. "I won't rule out some sort of limitation in sales or distribution or use of those devices… Parents and grandparents need a helping hand; this is getting out of hand."
Ruddick warned that Australia's ban is making "very prominent people" interested in a dangerous strategy of censorship.
"I was assuming that the U.S. First Amendment was going to protect you from this," the politician told Fox News Digital. "But this is why I think we're a guinea pig. We're having very prominent people all around the world coming out and supporting this ban."
"They're going to try and say it's a success, and then they're going to say, 'Oh, the rest of the world needs to do this.' This is not about protecting kids. This is about internet censorship, which all governments crave," he added.
