Aussie influencers moved UK to avoid social media ban

An Australian influencer 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 2025.

Social media influencers known as “the Empire family” include four family members: two mothers, Beck and Rebecca, and their children, a 14-year-old daughter, Charlotte, and a 17-year-old son, Prezley.

The influencer family first started their YouTube Channel back in 2018.

Since then, the Empire family has frequently posted videos of their daily lives, which have gained nationwide public attention.

After spending 7 years on social media, they built a successful life in Australia with 6 million followers and a steady income.

Both children of the empire family are bona fide creators on their own platforms, landing incredible opportunities and lucrative brand deals.

For 14-year-old Charlotte, the new social media ban means losing everything, including 536,000 YouTube subscribers, 188,000 Instagram followers, 284,000 TikTok fans, and the audiences she loves connecting with.

While sharing a post on social media, the family said they use it 'positively' and that the bold decision to move to the UK will save the platform and allow their daughter to continue making more content.

"We understand that it is protecting young people from harm on the internet, but we use the internet for good," said Beck from Empire Family.

The law in question is the Online Safety Amendment, the 'social media minimum age bill' passed by the Australian government in late 2024 and will be implemented from December 2025.

Australia's social media ban, pushed as a world-first, requires Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X (formerly twitter) and YouTube to take "reasonable steps" to prevent those under 16 from creating accounts and deactivating existing ones.

The country believes that the new underage ban is designed to protect young Australians from the harmful impact and risks they can be exposed to on social media.

In the video detailing the family's decision to move from Perth, Western Australia, to London, Beck says they are not opposed to the social media ban and truly understand its need.

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