Can Australia's under-16 social media ban really work? Study raises doubts over age checks

Australia online platforms are falling short of the measures needed to implement the social media ban for users under 16.

According to a study conducted by KJR, a firm that advised the government on the rollout, the major social media platforms are failing to implement effective age-verification steps.

Australia rolled out the under-16s social media ban law for the teens to protect them from the growing harms of platforms and online abuse. This law also mandated the tech giants to take reasonable steps to prevent the bypassing of age-checks.

Under this study, the researchers generated 50 test accounts across 9 different platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and Snapchat by simply declaring their age as16. To one’s dismay, none of the platforms asked for proof of age during the sign-up process.

"You ​should be asked to demonstrate how old you are, and not once have we been asked to verify our age or use age-assurance measures," said Andrew Hammond, director at testing firm KJR, which ran ​the original trial in 2025.

Kick was the only platform in the study that refused account creation without proof of age.

In response the study, a Meta spokesperson issued a statement, citing the inconsistency of trial in the face of “regulator's guidance of escalating to ‌formal age ⁠verification when behavioural indicators suggest they may be underage, or when an account is reported.”

Other major platforms like TikTok, Snap, Google, and X either declined to comment or did not respond.

The study also highlights a flaw in the initial vetting stage marked by the platform’s unwillingness to use "age-inference" technology to identify potential underage users for further verification.

A spokesperson for the eSafety commissioner said the regulator "remains confident that age-restricted platforms have the technology and resources they need to prevent Australian children under 16 from having accounts".

In the wake of growing non-compliance, the Australian government doubled the penalty from 49.5 million to 99 million AUD for companies breaking the law.