Another ‘20s prohibition era

It’s the ‘20s and we’re banning things.

Thankfully not alcohol, as the United States prohibition era did for the entire decade, a century ago. Our forbidden vices have evolved, even if our response to them hasn’t.

New data shows that Australia’s vape ban is having an impact, with usage among 14 to 17 year olds falling from 17.5% at the start of 2023 to 14.6% in April this year. Authorities have seized more than 10 million vapes in 18 months. Unfortunately, a flavour breakdown was unavailable. 

Meanwhile, in the Chinese city of Ningbo, customs has been cracking down on Lafufu’s, recently intercepting a batch of 200,000 goods suspected of infringing Labubu’s intellectual property.

But of course, the big news in bans this week has been social media. 

Despite a last minute lobbying push that covered everything from OOH to direct advocacy from the Wiggles, YouTube has been wrapped into the government’s under-16 social media ban.

The argument about whether YouTube was a social media platform seems to have carried less weight than where children may be exposed to harmful content. LinkedIn, which is undoubtedly a social media company, secured an exemption by arguing their content simply didn’t appeal to kids. Although to be fair, there’s plenty on  there that doesn’t appeal to adults either. 

The issue with banning things that people want is that they will inevitably find a way around it. Vapes are now Australia's second-largest illicit drug market. Lafufu’s are flooding the market. 

The race is surely on to crack the social media age ban too. VPN’s, AI, and more niche platforms will all play a role. The behaviour is so deeply embedded in Gens Z and Alpha that it may take decades to filter out.  

The real point of interest isn’t about which platforms are caught in the ban, but who the Al Capone of modern prohibition turns out to be. Who is Leonardo DiCaprio’s Jay Gatsby, raising a vape, Lafufu, or Instagram Reel to adoring partygoers? We are about to find out.