The ‘ridiculousness’ of Australia’s social media ban summed up in one post on

A former liberal has condemned Australia’s world’s first social media ban, questioning why teenagers can legally fly planes or fire a gun but can’t use TikTok, Snapchat or Facebook.

Ex-NSW Liberal whip Peter Phelps, 56, took to X on Friday to criticize the ban, comparing under-16 activities that are legal in NSW to social media sites they are banned from using.

He claimed it showed the “hypocrisy of the pearl collectors” who are “yelling” about how dangerous social media is for children.

“Things to do in NSW if you’re under 16,” he began his post.

‘Learn to fly an airplane; own and use a firearm; drive a Go-Kart at 80 km/h.

‘Captain of any non-commercial boat up to 20 knots; Own a spear gun for recreational fishing; Rappelling; To dive.’

‘Join the Australian Army Cadet Corps; drag racing; Change your gender.’

He then listed “things you can’t do right now: Twitter/X; Facebook; Instagram; Tik Tok.”

Peter Phelps made a scathing criticism of the ban on social media for young people under the age of 16 on Friday morning on X

Many other Aussies seemed to agree with his sentiment.

‘So you can’t use social media to find the abseiling and diving events but they can still do them? This legislation is unworkable,” one woman commented.

‘When I was 16, I left my parents’ house, got a job and rented a house. But thank goodness I couldn’t get a social media account,” said another.

Some claimed that under the legislation, children would now have much easier access to pornography than social media.

Peter Phelps made a scathing criticism of the ban on social media for young people under the age of 16 on Friday morning on X

“They are also criminally responsible and can go to jail by 10 o’clock… which in the future I’m sure will be for watching TikTok, the way this country is dumbing itself down.”

One reader suggested adding running a business, having an ABN, working and paying tax to the list.

However, not everyone agreed that there was hypocrisy at all, arguing that the ban supported these activities.

“They used to do all that stuff, go out and be active until [the] street lights came on. Then came Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok,” one woman wrote.

‘With all the things they can do [it] just goes to show they don’t need social media,” said another.

Australian teenagers will not be able to use platforms such as Facebook, X and Snapchat under the new law

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the bill’s implementation may not be perfect, but it is “the right thing to do”

‘Usually under the supervision or discretion of an adult, usually a qualified adult. That’s the point, in case you missed it,” one man said.

“All of these things mentioned are usually good for children. Not social media,” another commenter agreed.

“Yet (less than) one percent of children under 16 do what you listed in the top half, and the remaining 99.9 percent are in the bottom half. Take them offline and create your top half list! Problem solved.’

Some saw a bit of both sides.

“Most of the things under 16s can do that you list are more valuable than social media, but I see your point,” one person wrote.

The social media bill was passed by the Senate on Thursday evening and passed through the lower house without any problems on Friday morning.

The government has given tech companies a year to find suitable age verification methods before the law comes into effect at the end of 2025.

Production of the technology will be in the hands of the social media companies themselves, and fines of $50 million will be introduced for systematic violations of the new rules.

Foreign governments have been scrutinizing Australian legislation, exposing conflicts with tech giants such as TikTok, Reddit, Snapchat, Meta and X.

Lawmakers around the world have speculated about how similar restrictions might be imposed in their own countries.

Human rights groups have said an outright ban was not a proportionate response and infringed on children’s rights, despite demands to take action to safeguard their well-being.

Social media companies have criticized the laws as “rushed” and difficult to enforce, even going so far as to warn of unintended consequences for freedom of expression.

“This is an issue that has been raised with me more than once, or at least as often as any other issue by people when I’ve been on the road,” he told reporters on Friday.

‘We will do our best to make sure things are right.

“We’re not claiming that its implementation will be perfect… but we know it’s the right thing to do.”

The laws, which will come into effect from the end of 2025, will cover platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit and X (formerly Twitter).

But there will be exceptions for health and education services, including YouTube, Messenger Kids, WhatsApp, Kids Helpline and Google Classroom.