Oprah Winfrey praises Australia’s social media ban for children

December 5, 2025 – 4:48 PM

Oprah Winfrey. (Reuters)

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— American talk show host Oprah Winfrey has praised Australia’s decision to ban social media for under-16s from next week, saying the move would help young people socialize more.

The law, due to take effect on December 10, will block

children and teenagers

from platforms such as TikTok, Meta’s

META.O

SNAP.N

Snapchat. The government says the ban will protect

young people

from harmful content and online predators.

“I think you’re going to change the lives of an entire generation of kids who are going to have better lives,” Winfrey said at

event in Sydney on Thursday night, according to local media.

Winfrey, who is currently on a nationwide speaking tour of Australia, said she was particularly concerned about the impact of the internet on young boys.

“There are all of these young people who cannot actually communicate or have a conversation, particularly young boys because they become addicted to porn so early and don’t know how to actually ask somebody out on a date, haven’t experienced the socialization of talking to a real person,” she said.

affected

platforms have said they will comply.

Some 96% of Australian teenagers under 16 – more than a million of the country’s 27 million population – have social media accounts, according to Australia’s internet regulator.

—Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Editing by Kate Mayberry