Australia vows to bullet-proof ban on social media for under-16s

There has been a steady stream of evidence that the ban has had little impact

Australia's prime minister vowed on Friday to bullet-proof laws supporting a social ​media ban for under-16s as the government prepares legal action against platforms amid a steady stream of evidence that the ban ‌has had little impact on teen use.

Australia's prime minister vowed on Friday to bullet-proof laws supporting a social ​media ban for under-16s as the government prepares legal action against platforms amid a steady stream of evidence that the ban ‌has had little impact on teen use.

The country's groundbreaking six-month-old experiment is being closely watched by many nations seeking to emulate it due to concerns about the impact of social media on youth mental and physical health. 

That includes Ireland where the Government has said it plans to bring social media verification to Cabinet next month. 

Britain this month said it plans restrictions that go further as gaming and live-streaming platforms will also be affected.

The Australian government plans to stress-test the ​law which bans platforms like Meta's Instagram and Google's YouTube from giving under-16s accounts.

Numerous studies have shown age-assurance mechanisms, such ​as taking a selfie, that have been put in place by tech companies are easily circumvented by children and ⁠that in many cases, the children have never been asked to prove their age.

"What we want to do is to make sure that the laws ​are as strong as possible and that they will withstand any legal challenges which are made," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told local media.

One focus would be ​making sure that the eSafety commissioner, the country's internet regulator, was sufficiently empowered to do the job, he said.

He did not give further details about what steps the government would take and the regulator declined to comment.

The eSafety commissioner and Australia's Communications Minister Anika Wells have said they are preparing legal action against five of the biggest platforms, which ​face a fine of up to A$49.5 million (€30 million) if they are found to have systemically failed to uphold the ban.

Message board website Reddit is ​separately challenging the ban in Australia's highest court, seeking to overturn it on free speech grounds. The government has said it will defend the lawsuit. 

When Australia's ban went live last December, there were early reports that platforms had shut down millions of accounts, but parents have said and studies have shown that teen social media use is little changed.

A paper published in the British Medical Journal this week said 85% of Australians aged 12 to 15 were still using social media three months after the ban took effect, according to a study of 408 adolescents.

Two-thirds ​of underage users stayed online by ​self-declaring an age over 16 or ⁠posting a selfie that the platform accepted as over 16, the paper said.

That broadly matched data shared by Australia's eSafety Commissioner in March which showed one-third of Australians under 16 were still on social media.