Australia's Under-16 Social Media Ban: Regulatory Challenges and Compliance Issues

Tue Mar 31 2026 05:31:01 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Australia's eSafety commissioner highlights significant compliance concerns among social media platforms regarding the ban on users under 16. Despite the enacted law, the effectiveness of age verification methods remains questionable.

Australia's push to protect children from harmful content on social media has led to a ban on users under 16, but the effectiveness of this law is under scrutiny. The eSafety regulator has raised concerns about the compliance of major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, citing insufficient measures employed to restrict access. As the government begins to enforce the ban more rigorously, the debate continues over the challenges and implications of this regulation.

The world's biggest social media companies are not doing enough to keep children in Australia off their platforms, the country's internet regulator says, despite a law that came into effect late last year.

The legislation banned users under 16 from 10 platforms, but eSafety says it has significant concerns about the compliance of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube.

Australia's ban - which is being closely watched by countries like the UK - was justified by campaigners and the government as necessary to protect children from harmful content and addictive algorithms.

Firms like Meta and Snap believe the approach is flawed, but say they're doing the best they can to comply.

In its first report since the ban was instigated in December, the regulator said it had identified a number of poor practices from the five platforms.

Giving children who had declared they were aged under 16 before the ban the chance to show that they were, in fact, over 16
Enabling under-16s to repeatedly attempt the same age assurance method
Insufficient measures to prevent new under-16s creating accounts
Not providing effective ways for parents and others to report under-16s who still had access to social media

Limited data has been released since the ban came into force. In January, the regulator said 4.7 million accounts had been restricted or removed in the first month since the law took effect on December 10.

While social media platforms have taken some initial action, I am concerned through our compliance monitoring that some may not be doing enough to comply with Australian law, said Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant.

The regulator will begin enforcing the restrictions and gathering evidence that platforms have not taken reasonable steps to prevent children aged under 16 from having an account. This includes a requirement for companies to implement appropriate systems to verify age.

The BBC has contacted all social media companies for comment. A spokesperson for Meta stated that they are committed to complying with the ban but mentioned that accurate age determination is a challenge for the industry.

As the situation unfolds, parents in Australia appreciate the government's support in setting limits on social media for their children, while critics point out the need for better education regarding online safety rather than a simple ban.