Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales called Australia's ban on social media for users under 16 an "unmitigated disaster" and "an embarrassment" during a May 2026 visit to Australia. [1]
Australia bars under-16s from platforms including X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, with the government citing concerns about harmful algorithms. Wales said the policy goes too far and attacked demands that adults prove their age online by sharing personal information. "When it comes with demands that we adults have to prove our age, ie identify ourselves with personally identifying information … this is madness and it’s really unsafe," he said. [1]
Wales contrasted Wikipedia's community-moderated model with social media platforms that he said reward conflict. He said Wikipedia keeps moderation "all in the hands of the community" and forbids personal attacks, while social media was "unbelievably toxic" and driven by "flame wars constantly and personal attacks and just general horribleness." [1]
He also said current social media users are like "serfs on the master’s estate," bound by platform-made rules and anonymous moderators. Wales argued that humans do not need algorithms to be cruel to each other. "Humans don’t need algorithms to be mean to each other. We can do it on our own," he said. [1]
Wales is in Australia in May 2026 to promote his book "Seven Rules of Trust," which examines how Wikipedia’s trust model could apply to political polarization. His visit continues with writers’ festivals this month. [1]
