{"id":2199,"date":"2026-03-13T06:29:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T06:29:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=2199"},"modified":"2026-03-13T06:29:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T06:29:03","slug":"australias-under-16-social-media-ban-faces-early-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=2199","title":{"rendered":"Australia\u2019s Under-16 Social Media Ban Faces Early Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

CANBERRA, Mar 13 (APP): More than one-fifth of teenagers under the age of 16 in Australia continued to use social media platforms two months after the government introduced a nationwide ban on access for minors, according to new industry data.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The figures, released by parental control software company Qustodio, showed that while usage among teenagers aged 13 to 15 declined after the ban took effect in December, over 20 percent were still using platforms such as TikTok and Snapchat by February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report, based on data collected from Australian families between late 2024 and February 2026, is among the first to highlight the impact of the social media restrictions on young users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ban targets major platforms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Under the legislation, major social media companies including Meta platforms Instagram, Facebook and Threads, along with Google\u2019s YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat, are required to block users under the age of 16 or face fines of up to A$49.5 million (about $35 million).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Australian internet regulator, eSafety Commissioner, said it was aware that some under-16 users remained active on social media and was working with platforms and age-verification providers to address potential compliance issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The regulator added that it was monitoring the situation closely to identify any systemic failures that could constitute a breach of the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Decline in teen usage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Qustodio report showed that the proportion of Australians aged 13 to 15 using Snapchat declined 13.8 percentage points to 20.3 percent between November and February.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the share of teenagers in the same age group using TikTok fell 5.7 percentage points to 21.2 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usage of YouTube among the age group dropped slightly by one percentage point to 36.9 percent, although the report did not clarify whether those users were logged into accounts. Under the law, YouTube can still be accessed without logging in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cultural change may take time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A spokesperson for Australia\u2019s Communications Minister Anika Wells said the government had always acknowledged that raising the minimum age for social media access represented a \u201ccultural change that will take time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the report, social media usage among teenagers typically falls during December and January due to Australia\u2019s summer school holidays. However, the latest data indicated a steeper drop compared with the previous year, suggesting the ban had some impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report also noted that while usage initially declined, some activity levels were beginning to rise again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concerns that teenagers might migrate to unregulated platforms have not been widely observed, although the messaging app WhatsApp recorded a slight increase in usage among users aged 13 to 15.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CANBERRA, Mar 13 (APP): More than one-fifth of teenagers under the age of 16 in Australia continued to use social media platforms two months after the government introduced a nationwide… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2200,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[1718,1720,1719,1721,1722],"class_list":["post-2199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science-tech","tag-australia-social-media-ban","tag-online-safety-law","tag-teen-social-media-use","tag-tiktok-snapchat-australia","tag-youth-internet-regulation"],"yoast_head":"\nAustralia\u2019s Under-16 Social Media Ban Faces Early Challenges - World Watch Alert<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"More than 20% of Australian teens under 16 are still using social media months after the government introduced a nationwide ban on minors.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worldwatchalert.com\/?p=2199\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Australia\u2019s Under-16 Social Media Ban Faces Early Challenges - 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