ISLAMABAD: A teenager in Australia may find their social media account restricted because of their age. In Britain, technology companies face legal obligations to protect children from harmful online content. Across Europe, regulators are increasingly demanding that digital platforms demonstrate how they safeguard younger users.
Yet in many developing countries, children encounter the same algorithms, strangers, harmful material and addictive platform features under different regulatory and enforcement conditions.
The technology is global. The protection is not.
As governments confront growing concerns about cyberbullying, online sexual exploitation, harmful content and excessive social media use, a new divide is emerging between countries with established digital safety frameworks and those developing the resources and institutions needed to enforce similar protections.
Research published by UNICEF in September 2026 estimated that around 20 million children aged 12 to 17 across 21 surveyed countries had experienced technology-facilitated sexual exploitation or abuse within a year. More than half of the reported abuse occurred on mainstream social media platforms.
The findings raise a fundamental question: Should a child’s online safety depend on which country they live in?
Wealthier nations are rewriting the rules
Australia has adopted one of the most far-reaching approaches. Since December 10, 2025, social media platforms covered by its legislation have been required to take reasonable steps to prevent children under 16 from holding accounts.
The restrictions apply to major services including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, X and YouTube. Companies face substantial financial penalties for failing to comply.
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner reported that platforms had removed access to approximately 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to under-16s by mid-December 2025.
But removing accounts does not necessarily mean children have stopped using social media.
An official evaluation published in July 2026 found that the proportion of under-16s holding social media accounts had fallen from 52.4 per cent to 42.1 per cent three months after implementation.
The study also found that many children who previously held accounts had managed to retain or recreate them, exposing weaknesses in age-verification systems.
Australia’s experience illustrates both the possibilities and limitations of regulation: governments can compel companies to act, but enforcing age restrictions remains difficult.
Britain has chosen a combination of platform accountability and age restrictions.
Under the Online Safety Act, companies must assess risks to children and introduce protections against harmful content. The communications regulator, Ofcom, has powers to investigate compliance and impose penalties.
In 2026, Ofcom reported progress in age verification but questioned whether some methods used by major social media services were sufficiently reliable.
The British government has also announced plans to restrict social media access for under-16s from spring 2027, alongside tighter controls on potentially harmful features such as livestreaming and contact from strangers.
The European Union is pursuing a broader approach focused on how platforms operate.
Its Digital Services Act requires online platforms accessible to children to provide appropriate protections. European Commission guidelines address risks including cyberbullying, grooming, addictive design and harmful content.
In September 2026, the European Commission proposed the KIDS Act, which would prohibit social media accounts for children under 13, allow supervised accounts at 13 and 14, and permit independent accounts from 15.
The proposal also targets potentially harmful platform features. It is not yet enacted legislation.
Together, these initiatives mark a shift from relying mainly on parental supervision towards placing legal responsibility on technology companies themselves.
How social media companies are responding
Major platforms have introduced parental controls, private accounts for teenagers, restrictions on unwanted contact and age-assurance technologies.
Meta said in August 2026 that it had removed access to more than 750,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts in Australia identified as belonging to users under 16.
The company has also implemented educational initiatives for parents while complying with the Australian restrictions.
However, the effectiveness of industry safeguards remains contested.
Age verification may require identity documents, facial age estimation or other techniques that raise questions about privacy, accuracy and accessibility.
Children may also circumvent restrictions by entering incorrect ages, using alternative accounts or moving to less regulated platforms.
The early evidence therefore supports a cautious conclusion: regulation is changing company behaviour, but there is not yet sufficient evidence that age bans alone produce lasting improvements in children’s wellbeing.
Developing countries advance child online protection
The contrast between developed and developing countries is significant, but it is not absolute.
Several emerging economies have introduced legislation and initiatives aimed at strengthening children’s digital safety, demonstrating that regulatory progress is not confined to wealthy nations.
Brazil offers an important example.
Its Digital Statute for Children and Adolescents, which took effect in March 2026, requires digital platforms to strengthen age verification, provide parental supervision and reduce risks associated with harmful content and commercial exploitation.
The legislation restricts targeted advertising based on children’s personal data and requires stronger protections in digital services accessible to minors.
Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority has been assigned responsibility for overseeing implementation.
Unlike Australia’s approach, Brazil has not imposed a blanket social media ban on under-16s. Instead, it emphasises parental oversight and safer platform design.
Indonesia has also introduced child-focused digital protections through Government Regulation No. 17 of 2025, commonly known as PP TUNAS.
The framework requires age-appropriate safeguards, age verification and differentiated protections for children, with implementation obligations extending into 2027.
These developments reflect growing recognition across emerging economies that children’s digital safety requires coordinated action from governments, technology companies, educators and families.
Nevertheless, translating legislation into effective protection depends on technical expertise, regulatory resources, public awareness and cooperation with international platforms.
Pakistan strengthens child online safety efforts
Pakistan is among the developing countries working to strengthen child online protection through legislation, awareness initiatives, institutional cooperation and international partnerships as digital access continues to expand.
The country has introduced measures addressing cybercrime and online exploitation while supporting initiatives aimed at improving digital awareness among children, parents and educators.
One notable development has been the establishment of a Child Online Protection Coordination Forum through programmes supported by the international child protection initiative Safe Online.
According to the organisation’s 2025 reporting, supported initiatives also included training activities intended to extend online safety knowledge to approximately 150,000 educators.
Such programmes highlight the importance of prevention and education alongside legal protections, particularly as children increasingly use digital platforms for learning, communication and entertainment.
Pakistan has also witnessed legislative discussions about age-appropriate social media access.
In 2025, senators introduced a proposal to restrict social media access for children under 16. The bill was subsequently withdrawn following objections and discussions about revising its provisions.
Although the proposal did not become law, the debate reflected growing policy attention to children’s digital wellbeing and the responsibilities of online platforms.
The importance of continued action was reinforced by UNICEF research released in September 2026.
The study estimated that nearly one in 16 internet-using Pakistani children aged 12 to 17 had experienced technology-facilitated sexual exploitation or abuse within a year, representing approximately 1.5 million children.
The findings, produced through research involving UNICEF Innocenti, ECPAT International and INTERPOL, highlight the need for sustained investment in prevention, reporting mechanisms and child protection services.
Pakistan’s evolving approach illustrates how developing countries can combine legal measures, public awareness, educational programmes and international cooperation to strengthen children’s online safety.
Further progress will depend on connecting these initiatives with effective reporting systems, trained investigators and accessible support for affected children.
Why the global protection gap persists
Differences in child online safety are shaped not only by legislation but also by institutional capacity, economic resources and the ability to hold technology companies accountable.
Wealthier governments generally have greater resources to employ specialist regulators, conduct technical audits, investigate digital offences and pursue enforcement action against multinational technology companies.
Developing countries may adopt similar objectives but face additional challenges in securing funding, building technical expertise and extending digital safety services to underserved communities.
The international nature of social media creates another complication.
A platform may operate across dozens of countries, while the rules governing its responsibilities vary from one jurisdiction to another.
Consequently, children using the same applications may receive different levels of regulatory protection depending on where they live.
UNICEF research also shows that formal reporting remains a global challenge.
Across the 21 countries surveyed in its 2026 study, fewer than one per cent of cases of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation and abuse were reported to police, social workers or helplines.
More than four in ten affected children disclosed their experiences to nobody.
These findings suggest that even where laws exist, children need accessible reporting channels, supportive institutions and confidence that seeking help will lead to appropriate action.
The challenge is not unique to developing countries. Wealthier nations also face difficulties with age verification, harmful content, privacy protection and the effectiveness of platform safeguards.
However, differences in resources can influence how quickly governments identify emerging risks and respond to them.
Digital inequality creates a second challenge
Online safety is closely connected to the wider issue of digital inequality.
UNICEF’s 2025 report, Childhood in a Digital World, found that children from poorer households in low- and middle-income countries were more likely to lack internet access and opportunities to develop digital skills.
This creates a complex policy challenge.
Governments must protect children from online exploitation and harmful content while ensuring they can benefit from digital education, information and communication.
Restrictions that are not accompanied by education and accessible alternatives may unintentionally limit opportunities for children who already face barriers to connectivity.
Digital literacy therefore remains an important component of child protection.
Teaching children how to recognise suspicious contact, protect personal information, report abuse and navigate online platforms can complement legal safeguards.
Parents and teachers also need reliable information about the risks associated with social media and the tools available to manage them.
For developing countries, integrating digital safety into education systems could provide a practical way to extend protection beyond major urban centres.
Should online protection depend on geography?
The emerging international response presents an unusual imbalance.
A global technology company may face strict age-assurance requirements, independent regulatory scrutiny and significant penalties in one market while operating under less demanding child-specific rules in another.
That does not necessarily mean the company provides no protections elsewhere. Many platform safety features are available internationally.
However, the extent to which those protections are independently assessed, legally required and effectively enforced can vary considerably.
Australia’s experience shows that even well-resourced regulators encounter difficulties ensuring compliance.
For developing countries, the solution may therefore lie less in replicating a particular national ban and more in adapting effective safeguards to local circumstances.
UNICEF has called for safer platform design, stronger privacy protections, restrictions on unsolicited contact, effective reporting mechanisms and child-centred justice systems.
Its recommendations emphasise cooperation among governments, technology companies, schools, families and social services.
Regional partnerships could help countries share technical expertise, improve enforcement capacity and coordinate expectations of international digital platforms.
International organisations and technology companies could also support capacity-building programmes, digital literacy initiatives and accessible child protection services.
Such cooperation would help narrow the gap between countries with established regulatory systems and those continuing to develop their frameworks.
A shared responsibility for a digital generation
The debate over children’s social media use is often presented as a choice between banning platforms and allowing unrestricted access.
The international evidence suggests a more complicated reality.
Australia has demonstrated that legal restrictions can reduce underage account ownership, although circumvention remains a challenge.
Britain and the European Union are placing greater responsibility on technology companies, while Brazil and Indonesia demonstrate how emerging economies are developing their own regulatory approaches.
Pakistan’s initiatives in legislation, digital awareness and international cooperation reflect broader efforts among developing countries to strengthen child online protection while addressing practical implementation needs.
No single regulatory model has yet demonstrated that it can eliminate online harm.
Effective protection requires enforceable standards, responsible platform design, digital education, transparent compliance and support for children when safeguards fail.
For a generation growing up on the same global platforms, online risks increasingly cross borders. The protections available to children, however, continue to reflect differences in national laws, institutional capacity and economic resources.
The challenge for governments and technology companies is to ensure that progress in child online safety does not remain concentrated in countries with the strongest regulatory systems.
Ultimately, protecting children in the digital world should be a shared international responsibility, supported by cooperation that allows every country to strengthen safeguards according to its needs and resources.
