Australian influencer family move to UK to avoid social media ban

Beck and Bec Lea are moving their family to the UK due to Australia's upcoming social media ban for under-16s

An Australian family with millions of online fans are relocating to the UK to avoid their home country's social media ban for under-16s which starts in December.

Known as the "Empire Family", the four-member unit is made of mums Beck and Bec Lea, 17-year-old son Prezley and daughter Charlotte, 14, who all post videos of their daily lives.

In a post, the family said they use the internet "for good" and the move to the UK will mean their daughter can continue to make content.

Australia's ban - touted as a world-first - will mean Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube must take "reasonable steps" to prevent those under 16 years from creating accounts and deactivate existing ones.

The ban is designed to protect young people from the harmful impact of social media and tech companies that do not comply risk being fined up to A$50m ($32.5m; £25.7m).

It is unclear how they will implement the ban but some potential methods include using official ID documents, parental approval and facial recognition technology, prompting concerns over data privacy and the 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 will not be permitted to have an account, which is required for uploading content or interacting 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 it is protecting young people from harm on the internet but we use the internet for good," she said.

"We understand that there's young people that are affected negatively from social media, we're not naïve to that."

Her concerns are that the government hasn't "defined it exactly, of how it's going to work yet".

"It covers us while Australia figures out the logistics of that rule because I think there's going to be a lot of hiccups and a lot of ups and downs."

Beck's wife Bec said social media had changed so much since it first emerged and many young people were "making a difference for good" on platforms.

The move also came about as all the family have dual British-Australian citizenship and their daughter Charlotte recently decided to switch to online schooling, meaning they can be based anywhere.

Charlotte, who posts online as Charli, has about half a million YouTube followers, about 300,000 fans on TikTok and almost 200,000 on Instagram. Her accounts are managed by her parents.

The family's main presence is on YouTube with son Prezley's account attracting 2.8 million subscribers while the family's account is followed by 1.8 million.

The videos include make-up tutorials, gaming sessions and family holidays.