Australia’s teen social media ban is enforced, TikTok strikes a US deal, and the UK plans to rejoin Erasmus+

23 December 2025Newsletter

Welcome to The Student Funnel, a monthly higher ed sector newsletter from Hybrid, a leader in student marketing and recruitment strategies. We highlight news, trends, and behaviours that impact the sector and share insights on how to better connect with your audiences.

Australia has now switched on its ban on social media for under-16s, but the rollout is already getting messy.

From 10 December, children under 16 are not allowed accounts on ten major platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, X, Facebook, YouTube, Threads, Reddit, Kick and Twitch. New accounts are blocked, existing teen profiles are being deactivated, and platforms face fines of up to A$49.5 million if they don’t take “reasonable steps” to keep kids out.

The move follows government research showing 96% of 10–15-year-olds use social media, with 7 in 10 exposed to harmful content and over half reporting cyberbullying or more serious harms like grooming.

But on the ground, it’s far from a clean break. Many teens are still on their accounts, spinning up new profiles, using VPNs, or jumping to lesser-known apps like Lemon8, Yope, Coverstar and ReelShort. Regulators admit there will “still be kids with accounts” for some time and are now playing regulatory whack-a-mole as young users migrate to new platforms.

Critics (including academics, platforms and some parents) argue that teaching digital literacy and imposing a stronger “duty of care” on platforms to reduce harmful content would be more effective than an age-based ban that simply pushes teens into less regulated corners of the internet.

Globally, Australia’s ban could be influencing others. Denmark, Norway, Spain and France are all exploring similar bans or strict age limits, with the EU debating tougher rules. Several U.S. states have also passed parental-consent laws, and countries like Malaysia and Brazil are tightening age thresholds. The UN’s UNICEF, however, is warning that outright bans can backfire if they replace, rather than complement, proper platform safety.

TikTok has finally struck a deal to keep operating in the U.S., but in reality, it’s more of a restructure than a clean break from China.

The app’s American business will be spun into a new company, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, controlled mostly by U.S.-based investors, including Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and UAE-backed MGX. Together, they’ll hold about 45% of the new U.S. entity, with roughly a third owned by existing ByteDance investors and around 20% retained by ByteDance itself. A mostly American, seven-member board will oversee the U.S. operation.

Under the deal, TikTok’s U.S. algorithm will be “retrained” only on American user data, and the new U.S. company will control content moderation rules and data protection to address fears of Chinese government influence. But the core algorithm will still be owned by ByteDance in Beijing, which critics say falls short of the 2024 U.S. “divest-or-ban” law that was supposed to force a full separation.

So, after a long and winding “Will they? Won’t they?” saga, TikTok isn’t getting banned in the U.S., but it will effectively split into a U.S.-governed version and a rest-of-world version. Though big questions about data access, political influence, and long-term oversight remain unresolved.

Keir Starmer’s government has agreed a deal for the UK to rejoin the EU mobility scheme for the 2027/28 academic year, six years after walking away from it post-Brexit. The UK will pay around £570m to participate, which the government says is a 30% discount on what it would have owed under the original Brexit terms. For now, the deal only covers one academic year, with anything beyond 2027/28 needing a fresh agreement.

So, what actually changes? From January 2027, UK students will again be able to spend some time studying or training in Europe without extra tuition fees, and European students will be able to do the same here. Government modelling suggests over 100,000 people in the UK could benefit in the first year alone.

Sector bodies and university leaders have broadly welcomed the move as a boost for student and staff mobility, language learning and EU partnerships. However, there are still questions that remain around the Turing Scheme, the UK’s global outward mobility program created to replace Erasmus. Ministers haven’t yet confirmed whether Turing will continue alongside Erasmus+ or be reshaped.

Instagram is testing “Instagram for TV,” a new Amazon Fire TV app that lets people watch Reels on the big screen, organised into themed channels like music, sport, travel, comedy and more. It pulls in personalised Reels based on what you already watch on Instagram, auto-plays them so you can lean back and watch without scrolling, and supports up to five accounts per household (or a TV-only account).

Content will be moderated to roughly a PG-13 level, with teen safeguards and time limits mirroring the mobile app. For now, the test is US-only on Amazon Fire TV, with more devices and countries planned if it goes well.

Looking ahead to how this could affect advertising in 2026, this quietly opens up a new, living-room space for Reels ads. It’s still the same vertical format, but now in a co-viewing context.

For university marketers, this could mean designing Reels that work both on mobile and TV by considering elements such as:

Strong visuals
Clear audio
Minimal small text
Testing more emotional, brand-led storytelling that feels closer to a TV spot
Planning campaigns around cultural moments (sport, awards season, exam results) where families might be watching together

If IG for TV scales, you’ll essentially get TV-style reach with social-style targeting and creative flexibility.

Insights