Kids still finding ways around social media ban six months after world-first laws took effect

Six months after Australia’s landmark social media ban took effect, experts and students say many teenagers are still using the platforms.

The world-first legislation, introduced in December, banned children younger than 16 from accessing platforms including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Six months on from Australia’s social media ban

While the federal government says more than five million accounts have been removed, students and educators say the restrictions have had limited impact on many teenagers.

Year 10 student Clara told Sunrise on Wednesday social media remains a major part of life for her and her peers, despite the changes.

“Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok — they’re all still very heavily used. But some people would have to switch if one app got banned for them,” Clara said.

Clara said while she personally was not locked out of any of her social media accounts, bypassing the restrictions was “fairly easy”.

Clara said her peer group’s communication habits had remained largely unchanged but said some of their friends are reassessing their relationship with the apps.

“One of my friends has actually chosen to delete Snapchat for a period of time and see how that will influence her lifestyle and how that will change her mentally or physically,” she said.

‘The beginning of something bigger’

Clara’s principal at Pymble Ladies College, Dr Kate Hadwen, said the legislation was unlikely to deliver dramatic results overnight but believed it was an important first step.

“If we think about smoking in Australia in the 1970s, there were 74 per cent of adult men who smoked. Now, 8.3 per cent of our community smoke,” Hadwen said.

“We were never going to see huge widespread change off one initiative.

“There hasn’t been a huge amount of change I think but this is the beginning of something bigger.”

Hadwen said the strongest results may ultimately come from younger children who have not yet established social media habits.

“Starting early, and so in the junior school for sure I think these types of initiatives are really going to have a much bigger impact,” she said.

“We’re really worried about our young people. The evidence is so clear, so we have to do something. We have to start somewhere.”

Cybersecurity expert Susan McLean, who speaks to more than 1,000 students a day, agreed that the biggest impact will be on younger children.

She said the ban has been particularly ineffective for teenagers aged between 13 and 16.

“For parents with children in primary school, I think that’s when we’re going to see the real rewards from this because they’re going to keep them off it longer,” she said.

“As for the cohort that are between 13 and 16, I don’t believe it’s a success at all.”

McLean said what she was hearing from students across the country aligned with the experiences being reported at schools.

“Most of the children whose accounts were flagged by the platform have managed to pass the ID checks by doing a face scan,” McLean said.

“And the ones that didn’t even bother to do it, I had a group last week calling out, going, ‘Oh, Mum did it for me. Dad did it for me. My older brother did it for me’.

“There’s flaws to the implementation of it.”

McLean said the legislation had delivered some positives by helping parents keep younger children off social media for longer, but warned it was not addressing the broader online ecosystem.

“For every platform out of the 10 that was covered in the ban or the delay, is another 100 that is causing harm,” she said.

“We need education. We need to educate young people, parents, schools. But we need to make sure the platforms themselves are doing a better job.”

Despite concerns about the effectiveness of the ban so far, Hadwen remains optimistic.

“I’m really hopeful for the future. I think this is just the start.”

The enforcement issue

McLean questioned the lack of enforcement under the legislation, noting no fines have been issued since the ban came into force.

“When there is no real enforcement, when there are no consequences for people that are doing the wrong thing, well, then the wrong thing continues to happen,” she said.

McLean recalled a recent conversation with a student who asked what would happen if they stayed on a banned platform.

“The answer is nothing. Nothing will happen to that child. Nothing will happen to the parent.”

While platforms can face penalties under the laws, the eSafety Commissioner has not yet issued any fines.

Despite her concerns about the effectiveness of the restrictions, McLean said the legislation had helped drive broader conversations about online safety and appeared to be influencing how technology companies approach child protection.

On Tuesday Apple rolled out new child safety features including stricter content filtering, app access controls and tools allowing parents to approve contacts and websites before children can access them.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Apple chief executive Tim Cook had personally told him the changes were partly inspired by Australia’s social media laws.

“Mr Cook told me these changes are in part inspired by Australia’s world-leading social media age ban, as well as the continued research Apple is undertaking into the impact of social media on kids,” Albanese said.