Australia reviews compliance with under-16 social media age ban
Regulatory scrutiny increases as platforms struggle to implement reliable age verification and reporting mechanisms.
Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has released an update on rules requiring platforms to prevent users under 16 from holding accounts. Early results show significant action by companies, but also ongoing challenges in fully enforcing the restrictions.
By mid-December 2025, around 4.7 million accounts were removed or restricted, with more than 300,000 additional accounts blocked by March 2026. Despite these reductions, many children continue to retain accounts, create new ones, or pass age assurance checks.
Regulators identified several compliance concerns, including platforms that allow repeated attempts at age verification and encourage some users to update their ages. Reporting systems for underage accounts were often difficult to access, particularly for parents.
Investigations into five major platforms are ongoing to determine whether they have taken reasonable steps to meet their legal obligations. Authorities are assessing systems and processes rather than individual accounts, with enforcement decisions expected by mid-2026.
A new legislative rule introduced in March 2026 targets platform features linked to potential harm, such as recommender systems and continuous content feeds. Regulators will continue working with industry while gathering evidence and maintaining transparency during the enforcement process.
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