Most Australian teens still online three months after under-16 ban

The Australian government has defended the ban after a report concluded most teenagers had found ways to get around it.Published On 1 Aug 20261 Aug 2026More than eight in 10 Australian teenagers are still using social media, skirting the government’s three-month-old landmark ban on the platforms for under-16s because ‌tech firms have failed to implement effective age checks, the country’s internet regulator has found.In a study published on Friday, eSafety also found most children aged between 10 and 15 were using social media just as frequently in March as they had before the ban came into force on December 10 last year, while parental awareness of their habits decreased.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Mother sues OpenAI in US after daughter’s death linked to ChatGPT uselist 2 of 4Australia to double fines on Big Tech as children bypass social media banlist 3 of 4US Supreme Court clears path for Texas to enforce app age verification lawlist 4 of 4UK proposes voluntary overnight social media curfew for older teensend of list“Most under-16s who had social media accounts before commencement were able to either retain them or create new ones at the three-month ⁠mark, wit...