Majority of Australian youth still use social media despite ban, researchers find

A majority of Australian children under age 16 still use social media apps despite a ban implemented in December, according to new research.

Sixty-one percent of Australian children between the ages of 12 and 15 told researchers from a prominent UK foundation and an Australian youth research agency that they can still access accounts on major platforms just as they did before the ban was put in place.

The U.K. nonprofit, the Molly Rose Foundation, is a well-known advocacy group whose mission is to fight youth suicide. Foundation officials said the polling of 1,050 children suggests the U.K. should change its Online Safety Act to prevent youth from accessing social media instead of relying on a less enforceable ban.

The survey found that TikTok and YouTube retained 53% of previous youth users and Instagram 52%. In most cases, children can still access social media because the platforms “failed to identify and remove their accounts in the first place,” according to the research report.

Respondents told the pollsters they have been able to access the platforms without having to find workarounds, according to the researchers.

The findings come as the U.K. government is planning new restrictions for youth access to social media, and officials in several European countries have vowed to implement bans in the near term.

“These results raise major questions about the effectiveness of Australia’s social media ban and show it would be a high stakes gamble for the UK to follow suit now,” Andy Burrows, chief executive of Molly Rose Foundation, said in a statement.

“Parents and children deserve better than a flawed ban that delivers a false sense of safety that quickly unravels.”

The foundation said the U.K.’s Online Safety Act should be updated to include a “systemic Duty of Care,” which would require firms to put significant safety rules in place, including by enforcing age restrictions and removing content not appropriate for youth. 

It also called for the government to “reset regulatory incentives in favour of harm reduction and significantly strengthen the regulatory regime so that it is better targeted to the size and cash-rich position of the largest companies in the world.”

In January, the British government announced it is studying how to keep children under age 16 off of social media. In recent weeks, the government has been conducting a pilot program to test a variety of reforms for how youth can use social media. 

The consultation began in early March and will run through May 26 with a decision on next steps expected soon after that. 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in January that “being a child should not be about constant judgement from strangers or the pressure to perform for likes.” 

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said last week that his government will ban children under age 15 from social media beginning on January 1, 2027.

On April 2, the French Senate voted to ban social media for children under age 15 after the National Assembly passed similar legislation in January. The two bills differ slightly so lawmakers must hammer out a compromise.

In November, the European Parliament proposed what’s known as a non-binding resolution, asserting that children 15 and younger should not be able to use video-sharing platforms, social media or AI companions without parental consent. 

Parliament also said that regardless of parental consent, children under age 13 should be kept off of the platforms.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said in February that his government will block children under 16 from using social media and the Dutch government said it planned to keep children under 15 from accessing the platforms at around the same time.