Will Australia's Under 16 Social Media Ban be Effective?

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Claims

Last Updated 9 months ago

Timothy Koskie"Australia's social media ban is already driving change, and is proof that the threat of regulation works, even before the law takes effect. Waiting for perfect policy risks paralysis when real progress is already within reach.”Dec 05, 2025

The University of Sydney

Julie Inman Grant“We don’t expect safety laws to eliminate every single breach. If we did, speed limits would have failed because people speed, drinking limits would have failed because, believe it or not, some kids do get access to alcohol.”Jan 16, 2026

NBC

Melissa McIntosh“New accounts are being created and the age-verification tools that the government assured Australians would be effective, have proven laughably easy to bypass with some makeup and good lighting.”Jan 15, 2026

Guardian

Aaron Mackey"Some verification methods are often inaccurate while others are easily circumvented.”Dec 09, 2025

Al Jazeera

Terry Flew“There’s a fair amount of teething problems around it. Many young people have been posting on TikTok that they successfully evaded the age limitations and that’s to be expected.”Dec 10, 2025

CNBC

Meta“Ongoing compliance with the law will be a multi-layered process that we will continue to refine, though our concerns about determining age online without an industry standard remain.” Jan 12, 2026

Guardian

Anthony Albanese"Just as the banning of phones in school classrooms by many state governments hasn't on day one led to perfect compliance, now it's just accepted that there are improved educational outcomes, improved behaviour, improved social outcomes as a result."Nov 06, 2025

ABC News

9News Australia"They took the easy option, and it will fail."Dec 09, 2025

Joanne Orlando“Tech-savvy teens simply use VPNs, fake birth photos for face scans, or migrate to less regulated platforms like Lemon8, or to platforms not part of the ban like video games. Enforcement is proving to be difficult in the days leading up to the ban.”Dec 09, 2025

Al Jazeera

Australian Human Rights Commission"Technological workarounds – such as VPNs and false age declarations – may undermine the effectiveness of the ban."Jan 20, 2026

Humanrights

Anthony Albanese"Reports of teens circumventing it using VPNs are all very predictable.”Dec 11, 2025

CNN

Damini Satija“Many young people will no doubt find ways to avoid the restrictions. A ban simply means they will continue to be exposed to the same harms but in secret, leaving them at even greater risk."Dec 15, 2025