Australian children able to bypass age limit set by social media platforms report shows

SYDNEY – Children in Australia are able to easily bypass the minimum age limit imposed by social media platforms ahead of a landmark ban by the government on access for those under 16, a report by the country’s online safety regulator has shown.

ESafety’s report combined results from a national survey on social media usage by eight- to 15-year olds, along with responses from eight services, including Alphabet’s YouTube, Meta’s Facebook and Amazon’s Twitch.

Last November, Australia approved a social media ban for children under the age of 16, setting a benchmark for jurisdictions around the world. The ban is set to take effect at the end of 2025.

Social media companies largely do not allow those under 13 to access their platforms.

The watchdog’s report found that 80 per cent of Australian children aged eight to 12 used social media in 2024, with YouTube, ByteDance’s TikTok, Meta’s Instagram and Snap’s Snapchat being the most popular services.

YouTube, however, is the only service that allows under-13 usage when attached to a family account with parental supervision.

Still, none of the eight- to 12-year olds who have accounts reported shutdowns due to being underage.

Ninety-five per cent of teens under 16 used at least one of the eight services surveyed, the report said.

The report found that all services, except Reddit, require date of birth at its sign-up stage. However, they all relied only on self-declaration, with no other age assurance tools.

“There is still significant work to be done by any social media platforms relying on truthful self-declaration to determine age, with enforcement of the government’s minimum age legislation on the horizon,” eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.

While TikTok, Twitch, Snapchat and YouTube used tools to proactively detect users under 13, others did not, despite having the technology available,