2024 in Review: How governments tried to rein in the social media beast

It has been a busy year for social media, with tech platforms under scrutiny and governments reassessing their impact on society and privacy. Many have introduced regulations and banned apps like TikTok to protect citizens, especially children, from harm.

When it comes to the youth, several studies show that we are in the middle of a mental health crisis, something social media seems to be aggravating. A survey of 6,639 Australians aged 11-14 found that a significant percentage of kids have mental health issues like anxiety and depression. In 2019, 85% owned a smartphone, and this grew to 93% by 2022. A 2017 study found teens averaged more than three hours of social media use a day across at least four different social media platforms.

In light of such studies, some governments took action this year to tackle the effects of social media. Let’s take a look:


Social media ban in Australia

Australia approved a social media ban for children under 16, claiming to be the first country in the world to do so. The law requires apps like Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok and X to prevent minors from logging in. Violating the law could result in fines of up to A$49.5 million ($32 million).

The ban, which was approved in November, won't be going into effect for another year.

US regulations

The US government might ban TikTok under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.The app, which has 170 million users in the country, must either sell its US business to non-Chinese entities or end activities in the US by January 2025. However, president-elect Donald Trump's repeated support for the app has made the path forward unclear.

New York saw the implementation of a law by the State Legislature concerning the regulation of social media algorithms for users under the age of 18 and protecting their mental health.

Earlier in the month, state lawmakers had passed the SAFE (Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation) for Kids Act, for which parental consent is required to view "addictive" feeds.

In Texas, the state’s attorney general launched investigations into several tech platforms this month over their privacy and safety practices for minors.

Britain’s online safety regime

Britain's first codes of practice came into effect on December 16, which requires tech giants like Meta's Facebook and ByteDance's TikTok to make their apps safer by intercepting criminal activity on their platforms.

Media regulator Ofcom said the sites have until March 16, 2025 to evaluate the risks that illegal content poses to children and adults and implement the measures to mitigate those risks, such as easily accessible reporting and better moderation, among others.

Brazil takes action

Elon Musk's social media platform X, which was accused of reactivating some of the banned accounts on X which allegedly spread disinformation, was suspended in Brazil on August 30. The platform was reinstated in October.

Following this controversy, Brazil's Collective Defense Institute, a consumer rights group, filed two lawsuits. They demanded 3 billion reais ($525.27 million) from the Brazilian branches of TikTok, Kwai and Meta Platforms over the claim that the companies failed to create mechanisms to stop minors from using these social media platforms excessively.

Albania’s potential TikTok ban

The social media platform -- already banned in several countries -- might also face the same fate in Albania, as announced by Prime Minister Edi Rama, starting from the beginning of 2025. This came after the killing of a 14-year-old student in a fight which had begun with a confrontation on social media.