AUSTRALIA’S world-first social media restrictions for under-16s are facing an early test of their effectiveness, with new data showing children are gradually returning to platforms that were supposed to be off-limits to them.
TikTok usage among Australian children aged 13 to 15 stood at 26 per cent last month, just one percentage point below the level recorded before the restrictions took effect, according to data from parental-control software provider Qustodio.
Bloomberg cited on Tuesday that among children aged 10 to 12, usage was even higher than before the ban, suggesting that determined young users may be finding ways around the restrictions.
The figures offer an early warning for Australia and other governments considering similar measures: banning access may produce an immediate decline, but keeping children off social media could prove considerably harder.
“What we’ve seen is an immediate drop to a degree, but slowly but surely the numbers have started to increase again to almost equivalent levels” for some services, said Yasmin London, a global online safety expert at Qustodio.
Australia has been at the forefront of efforts to restrict social media access for under-16s, with platforms including TikTok, Instagram and Facebook required to take reasonable steps to prevent children below the age threshold from using their services.
The policy has attracted international attention as governments seek to address concerns over the impact of social media on children’s mental health and wellbeing. More than two dozen governments have introduced or are considering similar measures, while New Zealand announced plans this week to pursue restrictions of its own.
Usage of Instagram and Snap Inc’s Snapchat remains below TikTok but has also begun to recover after initially falling when the restrictions were introduced in December.
London said children could be circumventing the controls by providing false ages, using virtual private networks to disguise their locations or accessing platforms where age-verification systems were not effective.
“In the end, kids want access because they want to be connected just like the rest of us,” London said.
The findings have intensified scrutiny of whether technology companies are doing enough to enforce Australia’s rules.
Qustodio’s research, based on anonymised information from 19,000 Australian families, measured the proportion of children whose access to the applications was unblocked and who used them at least once a month for more than five consecutive minutes.
The company acknowledged that its figures could understate the scale of continued access because the data came only from devices using its parental-control software.
The figures also suggest that children may be gravitating towards services outside the scope of the restrictions.
WhatsApp, which is owned by Meta and is not covered by the ban, was used by 36 per cent of children aged 13 to 15 last month, up from 27 per cent before the restrictions were introduced.
TikTok, Snap and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Australia’s government said in June that social media companies were not doing enough to comply with the age restrictions. It pledged to double the maximum penalty for violations to A$99 million (RM286 million) and strengthen the enforcement powers of the country’s online safety regulator.
No social media platform has so far been fined for breaching the restrictions.
Australia’s online safety regulator, eSafety, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest figures.
Minda Smiley, a senior analyst at eMarketer specialising in social media, said governments would need to assess Australia’s policy over a longer period before drawing conclusions about its success.
“It’s still early enough in the game that I think Australia will keep pressing,” she said. “The ban has come at a time when social media is under more scrutiny than ever, so I’d say they have public sentiment on their side.”
Australia’s experience is likely to remain a closely watched test case as governments weigh tougher online safeguards against the practical difficulties of enforcing age restrictions in an increasingly connected digital environment. - August 25, 2026
