Social media checks implemented in Australia after banning social media use for teenagers under 16 have found little evidence of effectiveness, according to a study by Newcastle University. published in British Medical JournalThe study surveyed participants between the ages of 12 and 17 before and three months after the law went into effect. It specifically looked at participants’ use of TikTok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat.
Based on the information they collected, more than 85 percent of teens under the age of 16 continued to use those social media apps, while two-thirds of them reported that they had encountered age verification. About 54 to 68 percent of respondents under the age of 16 continued to use their accounts. You ask how? Well, the most common age check faced by Australian teenagers was to self-declare their age, a method that has been criticized by authorities in the country, with other countries also considering implementing similar legislation due to its limited effectiveness. Of the respondents, 24 to 39 per cent faced self-declared age verification, while 13 to 27 per cent received the check by uploading a selfie.
That said, the study also showed that affected teens found other ways to continue using social media. About 15 to 19 percent of respondents said they used fake accounts to access the platform, while 9 to 29 percent reported accessing social media using someone else’s account. About 11 percent of teens said they used a private browser to avoid restrictions. There were very few teens who reported using a VPN.
Overall, the study found that social media use among 12- to 13-year-olds remained the same after the law was implemented. It declined among 14- to 15-year-olds, but increased among respondents over 16 years of age.
While the researchers acknowledge that it is still early days and the sample size was small and relied on self-reporting, an editorial accompanying the study emphasizes that the results are early signs worth tracking.
“What these data collectively illustrate is a partially implemented policy in which mechanisms to restrict access were not reliably activated,” said Dr. Amrit Kaur Purba, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Public Health and Policy at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. “Australia’s experience shows that enforcing a ban is not the same as implementing a ban: when age assurance depended on self-declared age, the majority of teens continued to use restricted platforms. Countries now adopting similar measures – including the UK, which has committed to comparable restrictions and tasked its regulator with defining effective age assurance before implementation – will need to implement those mechanisms from the outset, rather than “Once fraud becomes widespread. Governments in Europe, North America and elsewhere should consider similar approaches, Australia’s experience suggests that implementation may be as important as legislation, and that the lessons may prove as consequential as any.”
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