Australia's Push to Protect Kids Online Faces Challenges

Tue Mar 31 2026 02:31:08 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Australia's eSafety Commissioner reports that social media giants are struggling to enforce a new ban on users under 16 despite efforts to protect children from harmful content.

Australia has implemented a law prohibiting social media use for children under 16, citing the need to shield them from harmful content and addictive platforms. However, the eSafety Commissioner has raised concerns about the compliance of major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Despite initial actions taken by these companies, many under-16s still access these platforms, highlighting significant enforcement challenges. Parents support the ban, yet critics argue for education over exclusion, particularly for marginalized groups who often find community online.

Australia's Push to Protect Kids Online Faces Challenges

Reuters Annie Wang, 14, poses after an interview discussing Australia’s social media ban for users under 16

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

Australia's ban was justified by campaigners and the government as necessary to protect children from harmful content and addictive algorithms.

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, Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.

The regulator says it will begin enforcing the restrictions and gathering evidence of platforms' compliance. The evidence must establish the platform has not taken reasonable steps to prevent children aged under 16 from having an account, Inman Grant said.

While the ban was brought in with huge fanfare, it is widely acknowledged that many under-16s continue to use the 10 platforms covered by the law: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Reddit, and streaming platforms Kick and Twitch.

Parents across Australia have widely supported the policy. For many, having the government on their side helps when they are at loggerheads with pre-teens desperate to get onto social media.

But there are plenty of critics, with technology experts and child wellbeing advocates saying children need to be educated on the potential harms on the platforms rather than banned from them.

On Tuesday, the eSafety commissioner said the reform was unwinding 20 years of entrenched social media practices and emphasized the need for collaboration with parents to curb children's access. When the powerful interests of Big Tech push back, we must continue to advance this critical cultural change, she urged.

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