Australia’s social media ban fails to stop most under-16 users

A recent study has revealed that despite a nationwide ban, more than four out of every five children under the age of 16 in Australia continue to use social media.

According to the research, Australia became the first country in the world to impose a ban on social media use by children under 16 years of age. The restriction came into effect in December 2025.

However, the new study found that more than 80% of children under 16 are still actively using social media platforms. Australia had banned accounts for users under 16 on several major social media platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and Snapchat.

The study conducted by University of Newcastle surveyed 408 children and teenagers aged 12 to 17 and found that enforcement of the ban has been minimal. Researchers stated that they found no evidence suggesting that the government-imposed restriction had significantly reduced social media use among children under 16.

The findings are considered particularly important because several other countries are looking to Australia’s approach as a model for restricting children’s access to social media.

The researchers noted that simply banning social media appears insufficient to prevent children from accessing harmful online content and that more effective strategies are needed. The study examined the impact of the ban during the first three months after its implementation.

According to the findings, daily social media use among children decreased only slightly between December and February. One major reason was that age-verification systems on most social media platforms remain ineffective. About 85% of children reported continuing to use social media after the ban and roughly half of them maintained their own accounts.

Around two-thirds of the children said they had completed age-verification processes while some admitted they were able to bypass age restrictions with ease. Many reported using fake accounts or relying on VPN services to access social media platforms.

The study concluded that social media bans may be more effective in preventing access among children younger than eight years old. However, for children aged 10 and above who were already using these platforms before the restrictions were introduced, the ban appears to be far less effective.

Experts emphasized that restrictions alone cannot solve the problem and that broader efforts are needed to improve online safety for children.

They added that it would be premature to declare Australia’s social media ban a failure given that it has only been in place for a short period. Nevertheless, the findings clearly indicate that additional measures and stronger enforcement mechanisms are required.