Australia investigates social media platforms for under-16s age ban compliance violations
Consensus Summary
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner is investigating five major social media platforms—Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube—for potential noncompliance with a world-first ban on under-16s creating accounts. The ban, enforced since December 10, 2025, requires platforms to implement age verification and prevent underage users from accessing services. Investigations reveal systemic failures, including allowing repeated age-assurance attempts until users pass, failing to block banned users from creating new accounts, and inadequate reporting mechanisms for parents. Over 4.7 million accounts were deactivated in the first two days, with Meta reporting 550,000 closures and Snapchat/TikTok combined closing 665,000. The government warns of fines up to $49.5 million for systemic noncompliance, while platforms argue age verification is technically challenging, particularly near the 16-year-old cutoff. A parent survey found 31% of children still had social media accounts post-ban, with 70% of those on Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok retaining access despite restrictions. The eSafety report, due on Tuesday, is expected to detail ‘unacceptable’ practices, including facial age estimation errors and lax guardrails, raising concerns about the ban’s effectiveness despite initial success in reducing overall account ownership.
✓ Verified by 2+ sources
Key details reported by multiple sources:
- Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube are under investigation by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner for potential noncompliance with the under-16 social media ban (NEWSCOMAU, ABC, GUARDIAN, SBS).
- The eSafety Commissioner’s compliance update is scheduled for release on Tuesday, revealing issues including repeated age-assurance attempts by underage users, insufficient prevention of new accounts after deactivation, and poor reporting mechanisms for parents (NEWSCOMAU, ABC, GUARDIAN).
- Platforms are accused of allowing children to repeatedly attempt age verification until they pass, failing to block banned users from creating new accounts, and having ineffective reporting systems for underage users (NEWSCOMAU, ABC, GUARDIAN).
- The Australian government’s social media minimum age ban covers 10 platforms: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X, Reddit, YouTube, Kick (NEWSCOMAU, ABC).
- Over 4.7 million accounts were deactivated in the first two days after the ban took effect on December 10, 2025 (NEWSCOMAU, ABC, GUARDIAN).
- Meta (Facebook/Instagram) reported closing 550,000 accounts under the ban, while Snapchat and TikTok combined closed 665,000 (NEWSCOMAU).
- Fines for systemic noncompliance can reach up to $49.5 million per platform (NEWSCOMAU, ABC, GUARDIAN).
- The ban was implemented after Australia became the first country to raise the minimum age of access to social media from 13 to 16, following News Corp’s Let Them Be Kids campaign (NEWSCOMAU, ABC).
- A survey of 900 parents found 31% of children still had social media accounts after the ban, down from 49% before (GUARDIAN, NEWSCOMAU).
- The eSafety Commissioner’s report highlights ‘unacceptable’ systems used by platforms, including facial age estimation with high error rates near the 16-year-old cutoff (GUARDIAN, NEWSCOMAU)
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- The ban covers Meta brands Instagram and Facebook, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, Twitch, X, and YouTube (10 total platforms).
- Meta reported closing 550,000 accounts under the ban, while Snapchat and TikTok combined closed 665,000 accounts.
- The government claims the ban was implemented after News Corp’s Let Them Be Kids campaign, making Australia the first country to raise the age of access to 16.
- The eSafety Commissioner’s report will include examples of platforms allowing underage users to repeatedly attempt age assurance until they pass, failing to stop banned users from creating new accounts, and lacking clear reporting mechanisms for parents.
- The definition of platforms covered by the ban was updated last week to include those with infinite scroll, feedback features like likes, and time-limited elements (e.g., disappearing stories).
- eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman-Grant stated there were ‘teething issues’ as platforms deployed new age-assurance technologies after the ban’s implementation.
- The government revealed that more than 4.7 million accounts were deactivated in the first two days of the ban, with preliminary analysis finding platforms made ‘meaningful attempts’ to remove underage users.
- The compliance report found platforms were making it easy to find ways to circumvent age-assurance measures.
- A survey of 900 parents found 70% of under-16s who had accounts on Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok before the ban still maintained access after the ban.
- The eSafety report stated that the most common reason children still had accounts was that they had not yet been asked to verify their age by the platform.
- The report highlighted that platforms were encouraging children to attempt age assurance even when their declared age was under 16.
- Meta stated in a response that age verification is a challenge for the industry, particularly at the 16-year-old boundary, and that robust age verification should be required at the app store and operating system level.
- TikTok and Google did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.
- The government promoted the ban’s success at the United Nations but acknowledged anecdotal reports of children still accessing social media.
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- NEWSCOMAU and ABC both list 10 platforms covered by the ban, but NEWSCOMAU includes Kick and Threads while ABC’s updated definition does not explicitly mention these two in the source-specific details.
- The Guardian reports that 70% of under-16s maintained access to Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok after the ban, while NEWSCOMAU and ABC do not provide this specific percentage breakdown for individual platforms.
- NEWSCOMAU states the ban was implemented after News Corp’s Let Them Be Kids campaign, but ABC does not mention this specific campaign as the reason for the ban.
- The Guardian reports that platforms were encouraging children to attempt age assurance even when their declared age was under 16, while NEWSCOMAU and ABC do not explicitly state this encouragement as a specific issue.
- ABC mentions that platforms made ‘meaningful attempts’ to remove underage users, while the Guardian’s survey suggests a substantial proportion of children retained accounts despite the ban.
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