Australia: Social media ban for youth has little effect

The social media ban for under-16s, introduced in Australia almost five months ago, is apparently proving largely ineffective in practice. According to a first large-scale survey by the Molly Rose Foundation, 61 percent of the surveyed 12- to 15-year-olds who already had accounts before the ban still have access to at least one of them. Platforms like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram often take no action to identify and exclude minors.

For the survey, 1,050 Australian teenagers were interviewed in March. The data shows that social media providers are leaving existing accounts largely untouched: on YouTube, 64 percent of the remaining young users reported that the operator had taken no action to deactivate their accounts. On Instagram and TikTok, around 60 percent each stated this. Almost a quarter of teenagers also actively bypassed age controls on existing accounts.

Technical aids such as VPNs were only used by four to five percent. Instead, some teenagers reportedly used their parents' IDs or printed masks to bypass facial recognition systems.

Youth protection goals not yet achieved

According to the survey, the core political goal of increasing child safety online is not being met. More than half of the affected young people (51 percent) reported not feeling safer online than before the ban. At the same time, young people are switching to other digital services: 43 percent are increasingly using gaming platforms, and 39 percent are spending more time on messengers.

However, the study also records some initial partial successes: a respectable 31 percent of the affected young people reported feeling safer now, and half noticed spending less time online. The foundation warns, however, that this effect could disappear again over time.

Against this background, the Molly Rose Foundation advises other countries like Great Britain against copying the Australian law. A blanket ban absolves tech corporations of their responsibility for secure product design and merely creates a false sense of security. Instead, the organization calls for stricter regulations to legally hold platform operators accountable and to directly change dangerous algorithms.

The Australian government had already threatened tech corporations with lawsuits in federal court for violating the law. It has initiated investigations into systematic violations of age verification. Companies face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (around 30 million euros) per violation if non-compliance is proven.

Other countries could follow Australia

Starting in December 2025, Australia became the first country to impose a far-reaching social media ban for under-16s. The government wanted to protect children's mental health from harmful online influences. Dangers such as cyberbullying and addiction-promoting algorithms were to be actively curbed. According to Australian authorities, 4.7 million accounts have since been blocked.

However, critics doubt the effectiveness of the ban, as young people can easily bypass such blocks. Experts also warn that a blanket ban isolates young people from important digital networks and support services. As an alternative, media educators are calling for targeted promotion of digital media literacy and stronger regulation of platform algorithms.

Similar social media bans are also being discussed in Europe. For example, an EU wallet app for age verification, recently presented, could be used. However, previous ban plans by the German governing parties CDU and SPD face significant legal hurdles.

(mho)