Australian Children Easily Bypass Social Media Age Limits, Report Finds
- Nikolai Theo
- Feb 20
- 2 min read
A new report from Australia's online safety regulator has revealed that children can easily bypass the minimum age restrictions set by social media platforms, despite a pending national ban on under-16 usage.
Key Findings from the eSafety Report
80% of Australian children aged 8-12 used social media in 2024.
Popular platforms among young users include YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat.
Age verification is ineffective, as platforms rely solely on self-declared birthdates.
Australia approved a ban on social media for under-16s in November 2024, set to take effect by the end of 2025.
Lack of Effective Age Verification
The eSafety report, which surveyed Australian children aged 8-15 and gathered responses from major platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch, found that most services require a birthdate at sign-up but lack robust age verification tools.
"YouTube is the only platform allowing under-13 usage under parental supervision, yet none of the surveyed children reported account shutdowns due to age," the report stated.
While some platforms—such as TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTube—use tools to detect underage users, others do not, despite having the technology available. TikTok claims it removed over a million suspected underage accounts since 2023.
Government and Industry Response
With Australia’s under-16 social media ban approaching, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant urged platforms to strengthen their age verification measures.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, stated that app stores should take responsibility for enforcing age restrictions. Reddit declined to comment, while Twitch, Snapchat, and YouTube have yet to respond.
Despite efforts to refine age assurance methods, the report highlights the ongoing challenges in preventing underage access to social media platforms.
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