Australian influencer family move to UK to avoid social media ban
An Australian family with millions of online fans is moving to the UK to avoid their country’s December social media ban on under-16s.
The four-member unit, known as the “Imperial Family,” consists of mothers Beck and Bec Lea, their 17-year-old son Prezley, and 14-year-old daughter Charlotte, who post videos of their daily lives.
The family said in a post that they were using the internet “for good” and that moving to the UK would mean their daughter could continue creating content.
Australia’s ban, billed as a world first, means Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube must take “reasonable steps” to prevent people under 16 from creating accounts and disabling existing accounts.
The ban is designed to protect young people from the harmful effects of social media and the risk that tech companies that fail to comply face fines of up to A$50 million (US$32.5 million; £25.7 million).
It’s unclear how they’ll enforce the ban, but some possible methods include the use of government-issued identification documents, parental consent, and facial recognition technology; This raises concerns about data privacy and accuracy of age verification software.
YouTube was initially exempt from the ban, but earlier this year the government reversed its decision. Teens under 16 will still be able to view videos, but they won’t be allowed to have an account, which is required to upload or interact with content on the platform.
In the video detailing the family’s decision to move from Perth in Western Australia to London, Beck says they are not against the social media ban.
“We understand that our goal is to protect young people from the harms of the internet, but we use the internet for good,” he said.
“We know that there are young people who are negatively affected by social media, we are not naive about this.”
His concerns are that the government “hasn’t yet fully defined how it’s going to work.”
“That includes us as Australia figures out the logistics of this rule because I think there will be a lot of hiccups and a lot of ups and downs.”
Beck’s wife, Bec, said social media had changed a lot since its inception and that many young people were “making a difference for good” on the platforms.
The move also comes because the entire family has dual British-Australian citizenship and their daughter Charlotte has recently decided to switch to online education; This means they can reside anywhere.
Charlotte, who posts online under the name Charli, has nearly half a million followers on YouTube, nearly 300,000 fans on TikTok and nearly 200,000 fans on Instagram. Their accounts are managed by their parents.
The family’s main presence is on YouTube; While his son Prezley’s account attracts 2.8 million subscribers, the family’s account is followed by 1.8 million subscribers.
Videos include makeup tutorials, play sessions and family vacations.
