February 20, 2025 – A report released on Thursday by Australia’s online safety watchdog, eSafety, has revealed that local teenagers are effortlessly bypassing the minimum age restrictions set by social media platforms. This finding comes amidst the government’s impending ban on social media use for individuals under 16, which is set to take effect at the end of this year.
The eSafety report combines insights from a nationwide survey on social media usage among individuals aged 8 to 15, along with feedback from eight platforms including YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch.
In November of last year, Australia approved a ban on social media for those under 16, with the regulation slated to come into force by the end of 2025. Typically, social media platforms disallow registration for those under 13.
According to the report, 80% of children aged 8 to 12 in Australia used social media in 2024, with YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat being the most popular platforms.
Among them, YouTube stands alone as the only platform that permits children under 13 to use its services through family accounts under parental supervision. Nevertheless, no child in the 8 to 12 age bracket was prohibited from using the platform due to their age.
The report found that, except for Reddit, all other platforms request a date of birth during user registration. However, all rely solely on self-declaration, lacking more rigorous age verification mechanisms.
Julie Inman Grant, the eSafety Commissioner, stated, “Social media platforms that rely on users’ honest self-declarations for age verification have much work to do, especially with the government’s impending minimum age restrictions.”
The report also noted that while platforms like TikTok, Twitch, Snapchat, and YouTube use technology to actively detect users under 13, others possess similar technology but fail to implement it in practice.
Furthermore, most platforms are conducting research to enhance their age verification mechanisms, and some have provided simple channels for users to report individuals under 13.
