Australia's under-16 social media ban locked 4.7 million accounts but 70 % of surveyed parents report children still have active profiles

Six months after Australia introduced its social media ban for users under 16, 70 per cent of 898 parents surveyed by the eSafety commissioner reported that their children still maintained active accounts. The commissioner’s compliance update showed that many accounts created after the 10 December start date bypassed verification requirements.

7 million accounts listing an age under 16 were locked or deactivated.

BTN tested the Yoti facial analysis service used by TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Threads with 11 year nine students. The service classified every student as under-18, though two 14-year-olds were estimated to be close to 18. Students reported that the system could be circumvented by using a sibling’s face or a printed photograph.

Yoti stated it supplies anti-spoofing technology called MyFace and that platforms decide whether to activate live-ness detection. The company also noted that Australia has not mandated a safety buffer requiring users to appear older than 16. Communications Minister Anika Wells said the government expected imperfections from the outset.

“We were never expecting perfection. A long way from it,” she said. eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant is currently investigating Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, YouTube and TikTok. Snapchat responded that age assurance remains a complex, industry-wide challenge and that it is improving its methods.

Wells stated that major platforms want the ban to fail. “Big tech wants under-16s to find their way around a ban,” she said. Experts told BTN that government ID or credit-card checks can be more accurate than facial scans, though none are foolproof.