Australia’s Under-16 Social Media Ban Fails First Age Check Test

Australia’s World-First Teen Social Media Ban is Stumbling

Australia’s highly anticipated, world-first social media ban for teenagers is already proving ineffective. A recent study conducted by the team that advised the government on the rollout has revealed that major online platforms are stumbling at the very first hurdle: implementing basic age checks.

Since December 2025, Australia’s new social media legislation has mandated that platforms—including giants like Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube—must bar individuals under the age of 16 from holding accounts. Operators are legally required to take “reasonable steps” to comply, with the government recommending multiple layers of age verification.

However, the ban has faced widespread criticism. Studies suggest the vast majority of people under 16 are still easily accessing these platforms. This blatant non-compliance has prompted the Australian government to double the maximum fine and issue stark warnings of court action against tech giants.

The Loophole: Failing at the First Vetting Stage

A team of software testers from the firm KJR—who ran the government's original age-assurance trial in 2025—recently conducted a follow-up study that exposed a massive, largely overlooked flaw in the system.

The researchers opened 50 dummy accounts after the law came into force, explicitly declaring the user's age as 16 on each one. Shockingly, the platforms did not ask for proof of age on any of the 50 accounts.

• The Ignored Trigger: While much of the regulatory focus has been on the accuracy of photo-based age-assurance software, the initial vetting stage is failing.

• Behavioral Inference is Falling Short: Platforms are supposed to guess a person’s age range based on their general online activity to trigger further checks. However, this system does not appear to be picking up young users at all.

“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,” — Andrew Hammond, Director at testing firm KJR.

50 Active Accounts Across 9 Major Platforms

The study confirmed that all 50 test accounts remain completely active today. They have been successfully distributed among nine of the 10 platforms that are strictly subject to Australia's new age restrictions.

According to Hammond, this includes some of the most popular apps in the world:

• Meta’s Instagram and Facebook

• Snap’s Snapchat

• TikTok

• Alphabet’s YouTube

(Note: The follow-up study found that only one service, the Australia-based live-streaming platform Kick, actually refused to let users create an account without providing proof of age.)

As the Australian government prepares to crack down on these tech giants, it is clear that passing a law is only the first step. Forcing the world's biggest social media companies to actively enforce it is proving to be a much greater challenge.