81% of Australian Teens Still Use Social Media as Under-16 Ban Falters
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 1
81% of Australian Teens Still Use Social Media as Under-16 Ban Falters
3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Aug 1
Summary
More than 81% of Australian children aged 10 to 15 were still using at least one age-restricted social platform three months after the under-16 ban took effect, down only from nearly 86% before the law.
eSafety said weak age checks were the main reason: about half of teens who kept accounts said platforms never verified their age, while others stayed on because profiles showed them as 16-plus or systems misread them as older.
Daily use barely changed, slipping to 58% from about 60%, and the regulator found little change in offline activities such as sports, arts, family time or community events; parental awareness of children's habits also fell.
Australia introduced the world-first ban on December 10 over child health concerns, and the government defended it after the report, saying millions of accounts had been shut and full compliance was never expected.
If most children still log on daily, is Australia's landmark social media ban a regulatory failure or a brilliant cultural wake-up call?
With teens easily bypassing the ban, will platforms be forced to implement invasive biometric tracking to avoid massive government fines?
Why 81% of Australian Teens Still Use Social Media: The Failure and Fallout of the Under-16 Ban
Overview
Australia’s world-first social media ban for under-16s, launched in December 2025, failed to keep young teens offline. Weak age checks by tech platforms allowed most underage users to bypass restrictions, often by faking their age or using VPNs. As a result, actual social media usage barely dropped, while parental awareness declined. Many teens quickly migrated to less-regulated apps, exposing themselves to greater risks and privacy concerns. The ban also disrupted mental health support and widened educational inequality. Despite tougher fines and global interest in similar laws, the policy’s unintended consequences highlight the need for smarter, safety-by-design solutions.