Azernews.Az

By Alimat Aliyeva

A fifth of Australian teenagers under the age of 16 are still using social media two months after the country introduced a ban on access to these platforms for minors, AzerNEWS reports.

This situation has raised questions about the effectiveness of the age-verification methods used to enforce the restriction.

According to a report by the parental control software company Qustodio, provided to Reuters, the number of teenagers aged 13 to 15 using TikTok and Snapchat — two of the most popular social media apps among Australian teens — declined between December (before the ban took effect) and February. However, more than 20% of this age group still continue to use these platforms.

These findings are among the first to show the impact of the ban on young people’s online behavior since its introduction in Australia. The policy is being closely monitored by the Australian government and several universities, although no official evaluation results have yet been published.

The report also noted that among children whose parents did not block access, a significant number continued to use restricted platforms several months after the ban. This suggests that parental controls, platform-level restrictions, and age verification systems may not be fully effective.

Social media companies such as Meta (which owns Facebook, Instagram, and Threads), Google (YouTube), TikTok, and Snap have been affected by the legislation. Platforms that fail to comply face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (about 35 million US dollars).

Interestingly, similar age-restriction laws are being discussed or tested in other countries as governments try to balance online safety with digital freedom. The Australian case may become an important example for future global policies on protecting minors online.