Most Australian teens still online three months after under-16 ban

The Australian government has defended the ban after a report concluded most teenagers had found ways to get around it.More than eight in 10 Australian teenagers are still using social media, skirting the government’s three-month-old landmark ban on the platforms for under-16s because ‌tech firms have failed to implement effective age checks, the country’s internet regulator has found.In a study published on Friday, eSafety also found most children aged between 10 and 15 were using social media just as frequently in March as they had before the ban came into force on December 10 last year, while parental awareness of their habits decreased.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Mother sues OpenAI in US after daughter’s death linked to ChatGPT uselist 2 of 4Australia to double fines on Big Tech as children bypass social media banlist 3 of 4US Supreme Court clears path for Texas to enforce app age verification lawlist 4 of 4UK proposes voluntary overnight social media curfew for older teensend of list“Most under-16s who had social media accounts before commencement were able to either retain them or create new ones at the three-month ⁠mark, with social media platforms’ failure to implement effective age assurance measures cited as the main reason,” eSafety said in a statement.Australia introduced the world-first ban because of concerns about the effect of social media on the mental and physical health of children and young people. Its implementation is being closely watched by many nations that have since sought to introduce their own curbs.Before the ban, nearly 86 percent of children surveyed reported using at least one age-restricted platform. Three months later, that figure remained above 81 percent, the report said.A message that reads ‘Let them be kids’ is projected onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge to mark a law banning social media for users under 16 in Australia in Sydney, Australia, December 10, 2025 [Hollie Adams/Reuters]About 58 percent of teenagers reported using social media daily, barely down from roughly 60 percent before the ban, it found.