The world's first 'teen social media ban' has had little effect... 80% of Australian teens still use it

Australia’s under-16 social media ban has not significantly reduced teen usage three months after taking effect.

In eSafety’s first review, social media use among under-16s fell only slightly and still remained above 80%, with little change in account ownership or daily usage.

Weak age checks on platforms such as Meta, TikTok, YouTube, Snap, and Reddit allowed existing users to keep accessing services and new accounts to be created.

The findings highlight both the limits of the world’s first youth social media age-restriction policy and broader questions about platform accountability.