Researchers said on Thursday that Australia’s ban on social media use for individuals under 16 years old had a minimal impact on teenagers’ content viewing habits. This marks one of the first assessments of these leading global measures.
In December, Australia banned access to platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok for those under 16 years old. These measures were introduced to protect children from cyberbullying and “predatory algorithms.” However, a team of Australian researchers, in a peer-reviewed study published in the British Medical Journal, found little evidence that teenagers had abandoned social media as a result of this ban.
Young users are circumventing the restrictions by using accounts registered to older individuals, creating fake accounts, or utilizing private browsers. “We found insufficient evidence to conclude that the impact of the Law had any early substantial consequences for the use of social media among adolescents under 16 years of age,” the researchers wrote.
Limited implementation and circumvention of rules
There is significant global interest in whether Australia’s laws could serve as a model for regulating increasingly powerful tech giants. More countries are either implementing or considering similar bans, including the United Kingdom, Indonesia, the UAE, and New Zealand.
Researchers surveyed over 400 young social media users immediately before the restrictions took effect and again three months later. They found minor changes in usage for users aged 12–13 years, a slight decrease for the 14–15 years age group, and an increase in usage among those 16 years and older.
“The results suggest that the period immediately after the introduction of the Law was characterized by limited implementation, incomplete compliance, and significant circumvention of social media restrictions,” the researchers noted.
Responsibility of tech companies
Tech companies could face fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars (34 million US dollars) if they fail to demonstrate significant efforts to identify and remove underage users. In March, Australia accused Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube of not meeting their obligations.
Communications Minister Anika Wells stated: “Australia’s world-leading social media laws are not failing. But big tech companies are not complying with the laws. None of this is impossible. None of this is even difficult for big tech companies that are innovative billion-dollar companies.”
The National eSafety Commission separately expressed “significant concerns” about Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube. While the platforms have pledged to comply with the laws, they warned that these measures could instead push teenagers toward the dark, unregulated corners of the internet.
Social media companies bear sole responsibility for verifying that users in Australia are 16 years or older and must prove they have taken “reasonable steps” to identify younger teenagers. Some platforms use AI tools to assess age based on photographs, while users can also confirm their age by uploading government-issued identification.
Source: Phys.org