An “influencer family” is leaving Australia to save their daughter’s career as a content creator as the country prepares to enforce a ban on social media for under-16s.
The Perth-based family, which goes by their social media name of “The Empire Family”, is looking to move to London.
Australia enacted a law last year banning children under 16 from social media, putting in place one of the strictest such measures in the world by mandating age limits on the use of the internet.
The ban takes effect in December.
Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube can face fines up to A$50m (£25m) if they fail to prevent under-16s from opening and operating accounts.
For some minor content creators with millions of followers, accepting the ban is not on the table, but leaving Australia is.
The family of Beck and Rebecca and their daughter Charli, 14, and son Prezley, 17, say they do not want to lose their millions of followers and continue sharing their lives on social media.
The two children started on social media in 2018 and the family together amassed six million followers across platforms over the next seven years.
“Australia has been our home for so long, it’s where The Empire Family began, where our kids grew up and where so many of our memories were made. But sometimes, life takes you on a new adventure you never expected,” the family announced on YouTube.
The relocation to the UK is intended to ensure Charli can continue her online career. “When we heard that it was actually going to happen, we were like, ‘Okay, we need a solution because Charli loves being online,” Ms Rebecca said.
The ban was championed by prime minister Anthony Albanese, who presented it as necessary to protect children from the harmful effects of excessive social media use.
“Platforms now have a social responsibility to ensure the safety of our kids is a priority for them,” he said after the law was enacted. “We are making sure that mums and dads can have that different conversation today and in future days.”
The ban is absolute, unlike similar measures in EU countries where minors can still access social media with parental permission.
Ms Rebecca says her children are well aware of the risks of using social media.
“We always have a bit of a discussion about what we would like to share. We don’t share anything that is even remotely private,” she said.
“It’s stuff that you would share on Facebook or something like that.”
The Australian age restriction is a polarising subject, with some experts warning that the changes will protect children but also harm them.
More than 140 Australian and international academics signed an open letter to the government last year opposing the age limit as “too blunt an instrument to address risks effectively”.
Despite that warning, the law passed with resounding support last year. The platforms had a year to figure out how to comply without foolproof technology available to verify ages.
