Australia's landmark social media ban for under-16s has been undermined by widespread non-compliance, with a government survey finding that around two-thirds of children who had accounts on Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok before the ban retained access afterwards. The eSafety Commission reported that 69.1% of under-16s on Instagram, 69.4% on Snapchat, and 69.3% on TikTok still held accounts after the law took effect on 10 December 2025.
The Australian government has launched investigations into Meta, TikTok, Google and other platforms for potential non-compliance with the age-restriction rules. Communications Minister Anika Wells accused the companies of doing the 'absolute bare minimum' and using ineffective age verification methods, such as facial age estimation, which allowed teens to repeatedly attempt verification until successful. 'None of this is impossible. None of this is even difficult for big tech who are innovative billion dollar companies,' Wells said.
The survey of nearly 900 parents found that 31% of children still had at least one social media account after the ban, down from 49% before the law. For YouTube, 48.5% of under-16s retained accounts. The eSafety Commission noted that despite overall reductions, a substantial proportion of children remained on age-restricted platforms. The laws carry a maximum penalty of A$49.5 million (US$33.9 million, £25.7 million) for non-compliance.
Meta stated it was committed to complying with the ban but highlighted challenges in age determination, particularly at the 16-year boundary, and called for robust age verification at the app store and operating system level. TikTok and Google did not respond to requests for comment. The government previously reported that over 4.7 million social media accounts were deactivated in the first days of the ban, but did not provide platform-specific figures.
Wells criticised the tech companies for trying to cast doubt on the regulation, saying they 'obfuscate' and 'try to throw doubt on any regulation'. She added that the government expected such resistance and that eSafety was continuing to gather evidence before deciding whether to pursue fines. The ban applies to platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X, YouTube, Kick and Reddit.
